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THE 

HISTORY 



OF 



SOUTH CAROLINA. 

FROM 

ITS FIRST EUROPEAN DISCOVERY 

TO ITS 

ERECTION INTO A REPUBLIC 

WITH 

A SUPPLEMENTARY BOOK, BRINGING THE NARRATIVE DOWN 
TO THE PRESENT TIME 

By WILLIAM GILMORE ^IMMS, 

AUTBOB OF " THE TEMA88EE," " E0TAW," " CASSIQUE OF KIAWAH," " THE 800UT," HTO. 

NEW AND REVISED EDITION. 




RED FIELD 

34BEEKMAN STREET, NEW YORK 
1860 



1- a ^ ^1 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1859, 

By J. S. REDFIELD, 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the riuuthem 

District of New York. 



SAVAGK & MCCKKA, STEKEOTYPERS, ' 
13 Chambers Street, N. Y. 



TO 
• THE YOUTH OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 

THIS RECORD OF THE DEEDS, THE TRIALS, AND THE VIRTUES, 



OF THEIR ANCESTORS, 



IS RESPECTFULLY AND AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED 

BY THEIR FRIEND AND COUNTRYMAN, 

THE AUTHOR 







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TABLE MOUNTAIN 



CONTENTS. 



BOOK I. 

FRENCH AND SPANISH SETTLEMENTS 

Chapter I. — Fort Charles page 9 

Chapter II. — Fate of the First Colony 18 

Chapter III. — Second Colony — Fort Caroline 25 

Chapter IV. — Fate of Fort Caroline 32 

Chapter V. — Vengeance of De Gorgues 39 

BOOK II. 

the CAROLINAS under the lord-proprietors. — ENGLISH. 

Chapter I. — First Settlement of the English on Ashley River 44 

Chapter II. — The Colony under tlie Governors, Yeaman and West, 

1670-1682 54 

Chapter III.— From 1682 to 1696 64 

Chapter IV. — Blake's and Johnson's Administrations, 1696-1719. . . 74 
Chapter V.— 1708 to 1719— Civil Strifes— Wars with the Red Men. . . 84 

BOOK III. 

ROYAL GOVERNMENT. — 1719 TO 1736. 

Chapter I.— From 1719 to 1736 94 

Chapter II. — Negro Insurrection — War with the Spaniards, 1740 . . . 104 

Chapter III.— From 1740 to 1743 HI 

Chapter IV. — From 1743 to 1756— War with the Cherokees 119 

Chapter V.— From 1756 to 1764 128 

Chapter VI. — Regulators — Scovilites — Seeds of Revolution 142 



Vlll CONTENTS. 

BOOK IV. 

PROGRESS TO REVOLUTION. 

Chapter T. — From 1765 to 1775 page 154 

Chapter II.— From 1775 to 1776 165 

Chapter III. — Progress — From 1775 to 1776 173 

Chapter IV. — Seaboard Struggles — Civil War in the Back Coun- 
try—The Snow Camp 187 

Chapter V. — The Province becomes the Republic 195 

BOOK V. 

THE REVOLUTION IN SOUTH CAROLINA. 

Chapter I.— Battle of Fort Sullivan 201 

Chapter II. — From 1776 to 1778 — "War with Loyalists and Chero- 

kees — Invasion of Florida — Capture of Savannah 212 

Chapter III. — Progress of the Enemy — Lincoln marches into the 

Interior of Georgia — Provost makes an Attempt on Charlestown. .225 
Chapter IV. — Battle of Stono — Defeat at Savannah — Reduction of 

Charlestown— 1779 to 1780 235 

Chapter V. — From the Fall of Charlestown to the Defeat of Gates at 

Camden— 1780 247 

Chapter VI.— Sumter — Marion — The Battle of King's Mountain. . .264 

Chapter VII.— To the Battle of Cowpens 274 

Chapter VIII. — From the Battle of Cowpens to the Flight of Corn- 

wallis 287 

Chapter IX.— Battle of Hobkirk's Hill 297 

Chapter X. — To the Siege and Abandonment of "Ninety-Six" 306 

Chapter XI. — Expedition to the Low Country— Sumter, Marion, 

etc 317 

Chapter XII. — Restoration of Civil Authority — Execution of Hayne.326 

Chapter XIII.— Battle of Eutaw 335 

Chapter XIV.— Marion, Pickens, Maham, Sumter, Cunningham — 
The "Bloody Scout" — The Mountaineers — Dorchester — Prog- 
ress of the Americans 346 

Chapter XV. — Civil Government re-established — War subsides 358 

Chapter XVI. — Marion — ^Laurens — Evacuation of Charlestown 375 

Chapter XVII.— Closing Scenes of the War— Peace of Paris- 
Summary 386 

BOOK VL 

SUPPLEMENTARY. 

Chapter Last.— From the Close of the War of the Revolution to 
the Present Time— 1782 to 1860 392 



PREFACE. 



The volume here submitted to the reader, is an attempt to 
supply what seemed to the writer a popular desideratum. It 
was written fifteen years ago, and is now revised, with copious 
additions. It was originally conceived with the view to the 
instruction of an only daughter in the history of her birthplace. 
This could not be done with the existing histories. He found 
it no easy matter to place before her the materials necessary to 
convey the desired information. He had, it is true, all the sev- 
eral works already devoted to this subject. The various histo- 
ries of Hewatt, Drayton, Ramsay, Moultrie, etc., were all in his 
collection ; but volumes so cumbrous, and so loaded as they are 
with prolix disquisition, and unnecessary if not irrelevant de- 
tail, he felt convinced were in no respect suited to the unpre- 
pared understanding and the ardent temper of the young. 
These authors wrote, generally, at a period when the doctrines 
of popular representation, of suffrage, self-government, and 
many other principles, regarded as essential to the preservation 
of social liberty, were either of novel suggestion or very imper- 
fectly understood. It seemed necessary, and was, therefore, 
proper, in that early day, that they should be discussed at 
length. These discussions, however, overloaded the narrations 

1 



Z PREFACE. 

of the historian and Impaired their interest. They were cum- 
bered with opinions now regarded as truisms, which too greatly 
trespassed on the dominions of simple truth. So soon as the 
public mind had decided these questions, the discussions upon 
them necessarily sunk out of sight, and involved in their own 
oblivion the histories upon which they had been grafted. The 
latter, accordingly, ceased to be sought after, either for amuse- 
ment or instruction ; and, finally, and by a natural transition, 
were thrust away into that general lumber-house of 

" Things that on earth were lost or were abused/' 

a sort of Astolfo's mansion of the moon, 

" Which safely treasures up 
Whate'er is wasted in our earthly state — " 

the upper shelves of the library — where, frowning in imme- 
morial dust and dignity, they enjoy the time-honored epithets 
of "books of reference" — a classification for which their ven- 
erable writers never stipulated, and which would have very 
imperfectly rewarded the severe toils of elaborate authorship. 

Valuable in this point of view, they are scarcely of present 
value in any other. To the great portion of the reading com- 
munity they are entirely useless. For this reason, though long 
since out of print, a republication of them is considered unneces- 
sary, and would, probably, involve in serious pecuniary loss the 
most cautious publisher. The late reprint of Hewatt, Archdale, 
and others, in the historical collections of Mr. Carroll, ofiers no 
exception to the general justice of this remark. A reluctant sub- 
scription failed to pay the expenses of printing, and but for the 
liberal appropriation of the state legislature, after the risk had 
been incurred, that enterprising young citizen might have had 
reason to repent the rashness of his patriotism. He certainly 
would have gained nothing from his publication beyond the ap- 
plause which is due to his public spirit. 



PREFACE. 3 

The cumbrousness of the works, of South Carolina history, 
already existing, suggests another serious obstacle to their cir- 
culation as popular volumes. They are necessarily expensive. 
Books for schools and for the popular reader — the two objects 
for which the present history is designed — must be cheap as 
well as compact. Strange as the fact may appear, this truth 
seems to have been of recent discovery. It is only of late 
days that it has been thought advisable to recognise the poor 
among the other classes of book-readers. A few years back, 
our authors labored under the ambition of bringing forth big 
books — corpulent quartos, if possible, but octavos at all events ; 
and with this ambition they seldom stopped short at a single 
volume. It would seem that they regarded the size of the work 
as no imperfect token of the writer's merit. It followed, from 
this ambition — an ambition which, in most cases, effectually 
defeated its own object — that the quantity of the material fur- 
nished but a very uncertain rule in the construction of the vol- 
ume. Its dimensions being arbitrary, what was wanting in 
fact was supplied by conjecture, and when conjecture halted, 
and grew irresolute or blind, opinion came in to her relief; and, 
between discussion and declamation, she hobbled on through 
the requisite number of pages to the end of the chapter. The 
present age, if less ambitious, and no wiser, is certainly more 
economical in this respect. Small volumes, neat abridgments, 
and the judicious separation of subjects, not necessarily con- 
nected, into their proper classes, realizes all the natural ener- 
gies of a free press, and places the learning and the wisdom of 
the past and the present within the reach of the humblest and 
the poorest of mankind. 

Cheap literature to the poor is of scarcely less importance, 
indeed, than was the discovery of the art of printing to man- 
kind at large. The chief importance of this grand discovery, 
resting entirely on its power for diffusing knowledge rapidly 



4 PREFACE. 

throughout the world, it necessarily follows that the author who 
makes his book costly through its cumbrousness, adops a mode 
of publication which, to a great extent, must defeat the objects 
of the press. The time occupied in printing, and the expense 
of the work when printed, lessen greatly the infinite superiority 
which the modern printer possesses over the ancient scribe. 
We may instance the valuable work of Johnson, the life of 
Greene, as incurring, from its plan, some of these objections and 
disadvantages. That work abounds in materials which, prop- 
erly classified, would have made a dozen popular volumes. In 
its present state, the toil of the reader is continual and great to 
separate the narrative from the discussion, which equally pre- 
cedes and folloAvs it — which wraps it as in a cloud, and makes 
it difficult for the memory to compass and retain the several 
remote but relevant incidents which are necessary to a true 
comprehension of the subject. The result is, that a work which 
abounds in copious details and much spirited writing, and which 
relates to periods of the most exciting interest in our national 
and domestic history, is seldom read, and almost as unfre- 
quently referred to. And yet no work of American biography, 
could the author have descended to the humbler task of making 
an abridgment, would have more amply compensated both 
publisher and reader, than the same work stripped of its con- 
troversial additaments and contracted to the moderate compass 
of a single duodecimo. 

To this work of Johnson, we acknowledge our large indebt- 
edness. We have relied upon it in preference to all others, 
during that long period, crowded with fluctuating events, which 
followed the disastrous defeat of Gates at Camden to the close 
of the Revolutionary war ; and though studiously avoiding the 
expression of any opinion upon the vexed questions — some of 
them of very small importance to the result — which the vener- 
able author was, perhaps, only too fond of discussing, we freely 



PREFACE. 5 

avow our full confidence in the general fidelity of his statements, 
and in his habitual desire to discover and to declare the truth. 

For the account of the early settlements of the Huguenots, in 
and about Carolina, as contained in this volume, the simple and 
aifecting narrative of Laudonniere in Hakluyt has been chiefly 
relied on. The work of Hewatt, the narrations of Archdale, 
Glenn, and others, contained in the " Historical Collections," 
and the highly useful and comprehensive sketch of South Caro- 
lina, from the first settlement to the Revolution of 1719, which 
we owe to the patriotism and painstaking of Professor Rives, 
have furnished the authorities next ensuing, down to the conflict 
of the colonies with parliament and the repeal of the stamp act. 
To Moultrie, Ramsay, Drayton, and Johnson, we owe what fol- 
lows to the close of the Revolution, and the erection of South 
Carolina, from a rebelling colony, into an independent and re- 
publican state. These have been our chief sources of informa- 
tion ; though, in our progress, we have found it advisable to 
consult Holmes, Bancroft, Grahame, Tarleton, and several other 
writers. 

The pretensions of the present volume are exceedingly mod- 
erate. The aim of the writer, as already expressed, has been 
to provide a volume for the popular reader and for the use of 
schools ; to supply the rising generation with such a history of 
the country as will enable them to satisfy their own curiosity 
and the inquiries of others. It is lamentable to perceive the 
degree of ignorance in which our people live with regard to 
those events which made their ancestors famous, and which 
have given them equal station and security. To say that the 
great majority of our young people know little or nothing of the 
history of the state, is to do them no injustice. We may equally 
charge this deficiency upon the old. This ignorance was inev- 
itable, from the unwieldy cumbrousness and heavy cost of the 
volumes in which our history was locked up. To steer clear 



6 PREFACE. 

of the great errors of my predecessors, my first aim was con- 
densation. My work, however, is much more than an abridg- 
ment. It is in many respects original, especially in the sug- 
gestion of clues ; and it embodies much material which has 
escaped other historians, and this very material is of a kind 
which seems to me absolutely essential to a proper understand- 
ing of many details the import of which was confessedly obscure. 
Though seeking rather to be useful and sufficient than original, 
I have felt it a duty sometimes to be excursive, and occasion- 
ally to introduce a conjecture of my own, wherever the subject- 
matter would seem to provoke a doubt or to require discussion. 
Circumstances, of late days, also seemed to demand that a fre- 
quent survey should be made of the general condition of the 
country, in order that the reader should be able, of himself, to 
decide upon the resources, and so properly to appreciate the 
responsibilities, of the state and people. All the clues to argu- 
ment upon doubtful or disputed points have been indicated ; and 
though I have forborne unnecessary details, avoiding all prolix- 
ity, I believe that nothing has been omitted which is essential, 
not only to a knowledge of the history in general, but to the 
argument, in the elucidation of particular topics which, improp- 
erly understood, might tend to the disparagement of the chief 
actors, or the people of the state at large. 

In the course of the narrative I have not scrupled to make 
occasional use of the very language of my authority, wherever 
it seemed particularly comprehensive or felicitous. To place 
the facts in a simple form, in a just order ; to give them an 
expressive and energetic character ; to couple events closely, so 
that no irrelevant or unnecessary matter should interpose itself 
between the legitimate relation of cause and effect ; and to be 
careful that the regular stream of the narrative should flow on 
without interruption to the end of its course, have been with me 
primary objects. 



PREFACE. 7 

To the mind of the youthful reader, the advantages of such a 
mode of condensation appear to me of obvious importance. 
The unbroken progress of connected events enchains the atten- 
tion and beguiles while it informs the thought, until reading 
ceases to be study, and instruction persuades to industry through 
the medium of amusement. To say how far I have been suc- 
cessful in this design*, must be the business of the reader. To 
the youthful student — to the children of this growing time — 
I commend it as a fond, and perhaps a last, tribute from the 
pen of one who has rarely overlooked their claims to a loving 
consideration, in everything that he has written. 

W. G. S. 

Woodlands, S. C, November, 1859. 



THE 



HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 



BOOK I. 

FRENCH AND SPANISH SETTLEMENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

FORT CHARLES. 

The Carolinas, North and South, forming twin provinces 
under the British dominion in America, were anciently a part 
of that extensive territory, known to the European w^orld under 
the several names of Virginia, Florida, and New France. Still 
more anciently, according to tradition and old chronicles of the 
Northmen, the region was occupied by a race, or races, of white 
men, to whom, if these traditions are well-founded, we are to 
ascribe the tumuli, jearth works, and numerous remains of fortified 
places in which the whole country abounds, rather than to the 
nomadi red men who occupied the territory at the time of the 
discovery, by Columbus and other voyagers, within the modern 
and historical period. The province thus covered by the two 
Carolinas, extended northwardly along the coast, until it reached 
the confines of Virginia ; southwardly as far as the bay of Mex- 
ico, and stretched away, for many hundred miles, into the dense 
forests of the interior. Three great nations contended on grounds 

1. By what names were the territories of the Carolinas first known to the European 
world ? 2. What was the tradition of the Northmen, as to the inhabitants of this 
region? 3. To what races are we to ascribe the ancient remains in the country? 
L How far on every hand did the territories of the Carolinas extend ? 

1* 



10 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

of nearly equal justice, for the right to, if not the possession of 
the soil. 

England laid claim to it, according to one class of writers, by 
virtue of a grant from the Roman Pontiff; by others, her right 
was founded upon a supposed discovery of its shores in 1497-8, 
by John Cabot, an Italian, and liis son, Sebastian — both in the 
service of Henry the Seventh. The Cabots approached tlie con- 
tinent of North America, and penetrated some of its bays and 
rivers, nearly fourteen months before it was beheld by Columbus ; 
but made no attempt at occupancy. 

The pretensions of Spain were based upon similar and equal- 
ly worthless grounds. Juan Ponce de Leon, under her com- 
mission, discovered and traversed a neighboring territory, to 
which he gave the name of Florida (1512) — a name which, 
in her ancient spirit of arrogant assumption, was made to cover 
a region of measureless extent, which she could not compass, 
and vainly sought to conquer. Ponce was beaten by the natives, 
and driven from the country in disgrace. He fled to Cuba, 
where he died of a wound received in his fruitless expedition. 

To him succeeded one Velasquez de Ayllon. who sailed from 
St. Domingo with two ships (1520). He made the shores of 
South Carolina, at the mouth of a river, to which he gave the 
name of the Jordan. This river is now known by the Indian 
name of Combahee. Here he Avas received by the natives with 
a shy timidity at first, the natural result of their wonder at the 
strange ships, and strangely habited visitors. Their timidity 
soon subsided into kindness, and they treated the Spaniards Avitli 
good nature and hospitality. The country they called Chiquola, 
or, as it has since been corrupted, Checora — the latter word 
being in most frequent use, but the former being the correct one. 
The red men of the South knew nothing of the letter R. This 
name was probably conferred upon the region by some wander- 
ing tribe, and was not of permanent recognition, since we hear 
of it no more from subsequent vo}'agers. An interchange of 

5. How manj^ nations of Europe claimed its sovereignty, and upon what grounds? 
6, For wliat power did the Cabots discover ? 7. Who discovered for Spain ? 8. What 
were her claims ? 9. What of Ponce de Leon ? 10. What were his fortunes ? 
11. Who was Yelaaqaez de Ayllon, and what nation did he represent? 12. What 
river in Soufli Carolina did he penetrate? lo. How was he received by the natives? 



PORT CHARLES. 11 

friendly offices soon took place between the red men and their 
visitors, and the former were easily persuaded to visit the ships 
in numbers. Watching the moment when their decks were most 
crowded, the perfidious Spaniards suddenly made sail, carrying 
nearly two hundred of this innocent aud confiding people into 
captivity. 

Velasquez, insensible to all feelings but those of mercenary 
exultation at the success of his criminal scheme, pursued his 
way to St. Domingo, where a slave market had been already 
estabhshed, by the policy of Las Casas, who proposed to supply, 
with a hardier population, the place and numbers of the feeble 
natives, who were perishing fast under the unmeasured cruelties 
of their iron-handed masters. 

But his triumph was not entirely without its qualifications. 
One of his vessels foundered before he reached his port, and 
captors and captives alike were swallowed up in the seas 
together. His own vessel survived, but many of his captivt* 
sickened and died ; and he himself was reserved, for the time, 
only to suffer a more terrible form of punishment. 

Though he had lost more than half of the ill-gotten fruits of 
his expedition, the profits which remained were still such as to 
encourage him to a renewal of his enterprise. To this he de- 
voted his whole fortune, and with three large vessels and many 
hundred men, he once more descended upon the coast of Car- 
olina (1524). 

As if the retributive Providence had been watchful of the 
place, no less than the hour of justice, it so happened that, at 
the mouth of the very river where his crime had been committed, 
he w^as destined to meet his punishment. His largest vessel was 
stranded ere he reached the point he aimed at, and the infuriate 
natives, availing themselves of the event, set upon the struggling 
Spaniards in the sea. Two hundred of them were massacred, 
and, according to one account, though this has been denied, Ve- 
lasquez himself, with others of his company, fell victims to the 
cannibal propensities of the savages. Whatever may be the 

14. How did he treat the red men ? 15. Did he make a second voyage to the same 
percinct? 16. What fortune awaited him ? 17. What is supposed to have been his 
fate? 



12 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

doubts cast upon this latter statement, it is surely not improba- 
ble. Nothing is positively known of him after this event, and 
what we have of conjecture, describes him as living a life of 
ignominy, and dying miserably at last. 

The claim of France to the possession of the Carolinas, rested 
upon the discoveries of one John Verazzano, a Florentine, w^ho 
was sent out in 1523, by Francis the First. He reached the 
coast, somewhere, as is supposed, in the latitude of Wilmington, 
North Carolina (1524). Here he found the country full of 
beauty to the eye. The forests were noble, and the various per- 
fumes which reached the seamen from the shore, intoxicated 
them with a thousand oriental fancies. The yellow sands gave 
ample promise of gold, which was the prime motive for most of 
the adventures of the time ; and the hospitality of the Indians 
suffered no obstacle to prevent the free examination of their 
country by the strangers. 

^ Verazzano describes the natives as " gentle and courteous in 
their manners ; of sweet and pleasant countenance, and comely 
to behold." Their population, according to the imperfect ac- 
count w'hich he has given us, was " numerous ; well formed m 
limb ; having black and great eyes, with a cheerful and steady 
look; not strong of body, yet sharp-witted; nimble, and exceed- 
ing great runners." The w'omen are described as handsome, 
and of " comely forms ;" and, which seems to have been not 
unusual among the North American savages, the government 
of the tribe was in the hands of a woman. 

The red men of this region seem to have possessed a more 
decided civilization than was apparent among the northern 
tribes. They dwelt in log-houses, so covered with matting 
as to be impervious to rain and cold ; they had boats wrought 
by tlint and fire from mighty trees, some' of which were twenty 
feet in length ; and, a better evidence yet in their favor, they 
treated the European strangers with an urbanit}-, grace, and 
kindness, which remind us of the patriarchal virtues enumerated 
in bible history. One of the crew of Verazzano, attempting to 

18. What were t]ie claims of France? 19. Who was Verazzano ? 20. In what lati- 
tude did he first gain the coast of the Carolinas? 21. How did he describe the conn- 
try? 22. HoM' tlie natives? 23. W^hat was the degree of civilization which they 
enjoyed V 



FORT CHARLES. 13 

swim ashore, was so much injured in passing through the surf, 
that he hiy senseless on the beach. They ran to his rehef, res- 
cued him from the waves, rubbed his limbs, gave him refresh- 
ment, and returned him in safety to the vessel. 

Thus far, it appears that these three great nations, through 
thein agents, did little more than look upon the country to 
which they asserted claims, which they strove afterwards to 
maintain by a resort to every violence and crime. Subsequently, 
two armies of Spain entered Florida ; the first, under Narvaez 
(1527), well known as an unsuccessful adventurer in Mexico, 
and destined to be as little prosperous in Florida. He fiiiled, 
was driven from the country, and perished in his flight, at sea. 

He was followed, a few years after, by an abler, if not a 
braver man. This was Ferdinand de Soto, a gentleman of 
good birth and fortune, who signalized himself in Peru, under 
the lead of Pizarro, and was considered one of the most 
eminent Spanish captains of the time. He projected the in- 
vasion of Florida, and, at his own expense, provided a noble 
armament of ,seven ships and a thousand men for this object. 

The Spaniards reached the bay of Espiritu Santo early in 
1539, and had scarcely landed . and pitched their tents for 
the night, when they were attacked, with partial success, by 
a large body of the natives. This was but a foretaste of what 
was yet in reserve for them. 

Undiscouraged by this reception, they boldly advanced into 
the country, upon that miserable march, which has been most 
erroneously styled " a conquest of Florida." Never was human 
adventure so unhappily misnamed. So far from De Soto con- 
quering Florida, the Floridians conquered him. Harassed at 
every footstep — yielding bloody tribute at every stream that lay 
in their path, every thicket that could harbor an enemy or 
mask an ambush — the Spaniards fought their way onward, 
entirely hopeless of return. The path before them alone lay 

24. How did they display their humanity? 25. Which nation first attempted the 
conquest of the country? 26. Who led tlie first invasion of the Spanish ? 27. What 
was the fate of Narvaez? 28. Who was Ferdinand de Soto? 29. What armament 
did he lead in the invasion of the country? 30. Where did he first land? and 
when ? 81. What was his reception from the red men ? 32. What is said of his con- 
quest of Florida ? 



14 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

open but not free. It was filled with foes no less resolute than 
those they had left — as determined as they were strong, and as 
audacious as they were adroit. Nothing could exceed their 
audacity — their froward valor — their sleepless and persever- 
ing hate. De Soto reached the Mississippi, and was buried 
beneath its waters, a broken-hearted man ; having discovered, 
in the significant language of one of our ow^n historians, 
nothing in all his progress " so remarkable as his burial-place." 
In his march he crossed the present state of Georgia, penetrated 
South Carolina at Silver Bluff, on the Savannah; skirted the 
gold regions of both states, and is supposed to have worked the 
mines in both ; but he preferred conquest of great cities to ob- 
scure labor in the mountains, and we know his career only by 
weary wandering marches, ■which his followers traced out with 
their blood. The wretched remnant of his army, reduced to 
half their number, escaped, after a tedious period of suffering, 
to the shores of the gulf, whence they made their way to the 
river Panuco. 

Nearly thirty years elapsed, after the miscarriage of this en- 
terprise, before either of the three great claimants of the soil 
renewed the attempt to occupy it. The strifes of empire at 
home, and, perhaps, the melancholy results of all previous at- 
tempts, served io discourage the rival monarchs, no less than 
their subjects, from prosecuting adventures which had hitherto 
been attended by nothing but disaster. 

At length, in 1561, the eye of the celebrated Huguenot 
leader, Coligny, admiral of France, was turned upon the 
shores of the new world, as a place of refuge to which the Pro- 
testants might fly and be secure from those jDersecutions wdiich 
they suffered at home, and from the worse evils which he saw 
awaited them. With this object in view, he succeeded in ob- 
taining from Charles the Ninth, permission to plant a colony 
on the borders of Florida. 

88. "What great river did he reacli ? 34. What was his fate, and where was he bu- 
ried ? 35. Tlirough what States did he march ? 86. "Where did he enter South Caro- 
lina? 37. AVhat is conjeclured of his occupations while in Georgia and Carolina? 
SS. What became of his surviving followers? 39. How long after Soto's death did 
the country which he had invaded r.einain unknown by European:^? 40. "What kept 
the European monarchs from invasion during this period '? '41. "\yiiO was Coligny? 
42. Why did he desire to colonize iu Plorkla ? 43. From whom did' he get permission ? 



FORT CFTARLES. 15 

This expedition was infrusted to the command of John 
Ribault, of Dieppe, an experienced seaman, a brave soldier, 
and a staunch Protestant. He was attended by some few 
of the young nobihty of France, and his troops were mostly 
veterans. These were all, most probably, voluntary adventur- 
ers. Charles was too bio-oted a Catholic to contribute to the 
prosperity of a colony which he did not protect, and refused 
to avenge. His commission to the colonists, which was suffi- 
ciently ample, was simply intended to rid himself of a portion 
of his subjects, who had shown themselves as stubborn as they 
were intelligent, and for whom he subsequently devised a 
more summary mode of removal, on the dreadful day of St. 
Bartholomew. 

With two ships, Ribault set sail from France on the 18th of 
February, 1562. His aim was to reach the river Corabahee, 
called " the Jordan," to a knowledge of which the French had 
been already introduced by the discovery and disaster of Ve- 
lasquez. 

Sailing too far to the south, he first made land in the lati- 
tude of St. Augustine, where he discovered the river St. 
John's, to which he gave the name of May river. Thence he 
pursued a northerly course along the coast, still in search of the 
Jordan, and naming the various streams which he discovered 
as he proceeded, after well known rivers of France. The St. 
Mary's, for the time, became the^ Seine ; The Satilla, the 
Somme ; the Altamaha, the Loire ; the Ogechee, the Gar- 
onne; and the Isundiga, or Savannah, the Gironde. 

The names wincn he conferred upon the rivers of South Caro- 
lina, they still partially retain. The Belle is now the " May," and 
the Grande, the " Broad." While he proceeded in his search 
for the '• Jordan," his two vessels were separated by a storm, 
in which one of them was supposed, for a time, to be lost ; 
but she had anchored in a bay which seemed the outlet of 
some magnificent river. To this bay, "'because of the fair- 

44. Why did Charles til fc Ninth grant permission ? 45. Who led the expedition? 
46. When did EibauU -et sail from France?. 47. Where did he first make land in 
Anierica ? 48. V'lat names did he give to tlie rivers of Florida ? 4!). What names 
to the rivers of Carolina ? 



16 HISTORY OP SOUTH CAROLINA. 

nesse and largenesse thereof," Ribault gave the name of Port 
Hoyale. 

'• Here," says the narrative, " wee stroke our sailes, and cast 
anker at ten fathom of water ; for the depth is such when the 
sea beginneth to flow, that the greatest shippes of France, yea, 
tlie arguzies of Venice, may enter in there." 

The dehghted Huguenots landed upon the northern bank of 
the entrance of Port Royal, which they believed to be one 
of the mouths of the Jordan, and gave themselves up for a 
lime to the contemplation of the aspects of the new world, which 
seemed to them no less beautiful than strange. The mighty 
oaks, and the " infinite store of cedars," enforced their wonder, 
and as they passed through the woods, they saw "turkey cocks 
flying in the forests, partridges, gray and red, little difl^erent 
from our's but chiefly in bigness ;" they '' heard within the 
woods the voices of stags, of bears, of hyenas, of leopards, and 
divers other sorts of beasts, unknown unto us." "Being de- 
lighted with the place," they set themselves to fishing with nets, 
and cauglit such a number of fish that it was wonderful." 

Having refreshed themselves with the fruits, the flesh, and 
the fish of this prolific region, with a curiosity stimulated by 
what they had already seen, the Huguenots ascended the river 
about fifteen leagues, in their pinnaces, when they beheld a 
group of red men, who, at their approach, "fled into the woods, 
leaving behind them a young lucerne [opossum], which they 
were turning upon a spit; for which cause the place was called 
Cape Lucerne." 

Proceeding farther, Ribault came to an arm of the river, 
which he entered, leaving the main stream. " A little while 
after, they began to espy divers other Indians, both men and 
women, half hidden within the woods ;" these " were dismayed 
at first, but soon after emboldened, for the captain caused stores 
of merchandize to be showed them openly, whereby they knew 
that we meant nothing but well unto them, and then they made 
a sign tliat we should come on land, which we would not 

50. W^here finally did lie strike his saUs and laud? 51. IIoav did lie describe tlie 
river of Port Royal? 52. How did the Hucuenofs describe the country? 53. Wh:;t 
do they say of the natives, or red men ? 



FORT CHARLES. 17 

The savages saluted Ribault after their simple fashion, and 
brought skins, baskets, made of palm leaves, and a few pearls, 
which they freely bestowed upon the strangers. They even 
began to build an arbor, to protect their visitors from the sun ; 
but the Huguenots refused to linger. 

There is a tradition nmong the red men, which preserves cor- 
rectly the events of this meeting between themselves and the 
Europeans, and the very spot on which it took place is supposed, 
and with strong probability, to be that now occupied by tlTe vil- 
lage of Coosawhatchie, a name borrowed from the aborigines. 

On an island — by some conjectured to be Lemon island, by 
others, Beaufort, but which, we have now good reason to believe 
is Paris* island, and where there are still the remains of a 
fortress which corresponds, in form and size, with the structure 
raised by the French — Ribault raised a monument of freestone, 
on which the arms of France were engraved, and took possession 
of the fertile domain, in the name of his sovereign. Here on a 
river which the French christened Chenonceau, he built a fortress, 
" in length but a sixteen fathom, and thirteen in breath, with 
flanks according to the proportion thereof," in which he placed 
provisions and warlike munitions, and to which he gave the 
name of Fort Charles, in honor of the reigning monarch of 
France. At the persuasion of Ribault, twenty-six of his men 
consented to garrison this fort, and when he had provided, as 
he supposed, sufficiently for their safety, he set sail for France, 
leaving one Captain Albert in command of the colony. 

* And, by the way, the name which the island bears, would indicate a 
French origin. When was it given 1 By whom, if not the Huguenots '^ 

54. How were they treated by them ? 55. Where did they first meet the red men ? 
56. Where did Eibault raise a pillar and build a fort? 57. How did he name it, and 
in whose honor ? 58. What garrison did he leave, and under whose command ? 



18 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 



CHAPTER II. 

FATE OF THE FIRST COLONY. 

RiBAULT continued his voyage northwardlj along the coast, 
but made no discoveries of any importance, and though he pen- 
etrated some rivers in his pinnace, he effected no hmding. 
His crews became impatient for their own country. His otiicers 
congratulated liim on having discovered " in six weeks, more 
than the Spaniards had done in two years in the conquest of 
their New Spaine ;" and pleased and satisfied with this con- 
viction, his prows were turned to the east. 

He reached France in safety ; but the fires of civil war, 
which the sagacious mind of Coligny had anticipated, were 
already blazing in that kingdom. The admiral, struggling with 
dangers at home, and beset by powerful foes, against whom he 
could barely, and only for a time, maintain himself, was in no 
condition to send supplies to the colony in Carolina. The for- 
lorn few who remained in that wild country, were left to them- 
selves, to their own enterprise, courage, and industry — quali- 
ties which, if exercised, might have amply sustained them 
among the hospitable natives ; but which seem to have been 
utterly banished from their minds, by rashness, improvidence, 
and the most unhappy dissentions. 

When first left by their companions, the twenty-six French- 
men, under their captain, Albert, duly impressed with their 
isolation, proceeded, without intermission of labor, to fortify 
themselves in their habitations. This done, they proceeded 
to explore the country, and made allies of several Indian tribes, 

1. Wliat farther progress did Ribaiilt make along the coast? 2. What was the 
boast of his officers? 3. Hom- did he reach France, and in what condition did he 
find that country ? 4. Vfhat was the effect of the civil war in France, upon the 
French colonists in Carolina? 5. V^hat was their conduct? 6. What was their in- 
tercourse with the red men ? 



PATE OP THE FIRST COLONY. 19 

north and south of tlieir fortress. Aiidustn, the king or chief 
of one of these tribes — a name in which we may recognise the 
modern Edisto — was in particuhir tlieir friend. He sent them 
ambassadors, invited them into his country, furnished them w^itli 
provisions, and admitted them to a siglit of those ceremonies of 
his reHgion, which, among the Indian tribes, have been most 
usually kept secret from strangers. Some of these ceremonies 
were curious, like those of most savages; an odd mixture of 
the grotesque and sanguinary. The scene of the performance, 
and one of their superstitious festivals, is thus described by 
Laudonniere, one of the lieutenants of Ribault. 

" The place was a great circuit of ground, with open pros- 
pect, and round in figure. All who were chosen to celebrate 
the feast, were painted, and trimmed with rich feathers of di- 
vers colors. When they had reached the place of Toya — such 
was the name of their deity — they set themselves in order, 
following three other Indians, who differed in gait and in 
gesture from the rest." 

"Each of them bore in his hand a tabret, dancing and sing- 
ing in a lamentable tune, when they entered the sacred circuit. 
After they had sung and danced awhile, they ran off through 
the thickest w^oods, like unbridled horses, where they carried on 
a portion of their ceremonies in secret from the crowd. The 
women spent the day in tears, as sad and woful as possible ; 
and in such rage they cut the arms of the young girls with 
muscle shells, that the blood followed, w^hich they flung into the 
air, crying out as they did so, He-Toya — He-Toya — He- 
Toya." 

They had three priests, to whom they gave the name of la- 
was. These presided over their sacrifices, were their only 
physicians, and professed to deal in magic. They held almost 
unlimited power over the minds of their people, and dictated in 
all the counsels of the country. It was fortunate for the 
French that they took no alarm at their presence, and suffered 
the hospitality of the aborigines to pursue a natural direction. 

7. Who Avas Audnsta, and what his relations with the French? S. What were 
the religions ceremonies of the red men, and what was the name of their Deitj'V 
9. What the name of their priests ? 10. In wliat did they deal besides religion ? 



20 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

The provisions of the colonist soon failed them, and they 
were compelled to turn to the Indians for supplies. The hum- 
ble stock of the savages was freely shared w^ith them ; '• they 
gave them part of all the victuals which they had, and kept 
no more to themselves than would serve to sow their fields." 

This excessive liberality had the effect of sending the natives 
to the woods, that they might live upon roots until the time of 
harvest: and having thus exhausted the resources of the peo- 
ple of Audusta, the French turned to other tribes — to king 
Couexis, " a man of might and renowai in this province, which 
raaketh his abode toward the south, abounding at all seasons, 
and replenished with quantity of mill [meal], corn, and beans " 
— and to "king Ouade, a brother of Couexis, no less wealthy 
than the former. 

'• The liberality of Ouade, whose territories lay upon the river 
loelle (May), was not less than that of Audusta. He received 
the French kindly, in a house hanged about with tapestry 
feathers of divers colors." " Moreover, the place where the 
king took his rest was covered w'ith white coverlets, embroider- 
ed with devices of very witty . and fine workmanship, and 
fringed round about with a fringe dyed in the color of scarlet. 

This prince commanded their boats to be filled wdth provi- 
sions, and presented them with six coverlets, like those which 
decorated his couch. The French were not wanting in grati- 
tude, which thej'^testified by similar presents, and the parties 
separated, equally pleased and satisfied. 

The colonists had scarcely returned to the fort, when their 
barrack was destroyed by fire — a catastrophe which was soon 
repaired by tlieir Indian neighbors. They hurried to the spot, 
and with an industry only equalled .by their generous enthu- 
siasm, a large company, under the direction of two of their 
chiefs, rebuilt the fabric in the short space of twelve hours. 

But no generosity of the Indians could enable them to sup- 
ply the continual demands which the colonists made for food. 
The resources of Ouade failed them in like manner with those 

11. From whom did the Huguenots get their food when their own stores failed them ? 
12. Who were King Couexis, and King Ouade, and how did they receive tlie 
French. 1-3. Witli what kindness, in what state ? 14'. What calamity happened to 
the French at Fort Charles ? 1.5. How repaired and by whom ? 



FATE OP THK FlliST COLONY. 21 

of Audusta, and a portion of the company was sent to explore 
the country. They were next supplied by Couexis, who added 
to his gifts a certain number of exceeding fair pearls, some 
pieces of fine crystal, and certain silver ore. This last gift 
inflamed the minds of the colonists with new and fatal desires. 
They eagerly demanded whence the crystal and the silver 
came, and were told that the " inhabitants of the country did 
dig the same at the foot of certain high mountains, where they 
found it in very good quantity." 

Hitherto, the French had conducted themselves in a proper 
and becoming manner. They had dealt justly and gently with 
the natives, and had been treated kindly. " But," in the 
language of the old chronicle, from which we quote, " misfor- 
tune, or rather the just judgment of God, would have it, that 
those who could not be overcome by fire nor water, should be 
undone by their own selves. This is the common fashion of 
men who can not continue in one state, and had rather over- 
throw themselves, than not attempt some new thing daily." 

The first civil troubles among the colonists began about a 
common soldier, named Guernache. He was a drummer of 
the band, and for some offence, the character of which is 
unknown, but which has been represented as too small to have 
justified the severity with which he was treated, he was hung 
without trial, by the orders of Captain Albert. , 

This commander appears to have been of a stern, uncom- 
promising, and perhaps tyrannical temper. Such, at least is 
the description given of him by those whom he ruled — a 
description not to be received without great caution, since it is 
made to justify their own violent and insubordinate conduct 
while under him. His usual treatment of his men was said to 
be harsh and irritating ; and, while they were yet aroused and 
angry because of his alleged injustice to Guernache, he added 
still farther to the provocation by degrading another soldier, a 
favorite of the people, named La Chere. This man he banish- 
ed to a desert island about nine miles from the fort, and there 

16. What dissensions toolc place among the French ? 17. IIow did Captain Al- 
bert treat Guernache ? IS. What was tlie character of Albert ? 19. How did he 
treat La Ciiere? 



22 , HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

left him to starve without provisions ; his avowed desire being, 
that he should perish of hunger. 

This tyranny of Albert, if truly rejDorted, might well justify 
the mutiny which followed. A threat of the imprudent com- 
mander, to treat in like manner those who complained of this 
injustice, precipitated a revoU. The colonists conspired to- 
gether, rose suddenly in arms and slew him. This done, they 
brought the banished La Chere back from his place of exile, 
where they found him almost famished. They then chose a 
leader from their own ranks, in the person of one JN^icholas 
Barre, a man described by Laudonniere as worthy of commen- 
dation, and one who knew so well how to acquit himself of the 
charge of government, that all rancor and dissension ceased 
among them. Famine, and the loneliness of their condition, 
contributed to dispose them peaceably. 

Hearing nothing from France, hope sickened within them, 
and they yearned to return to their homes. They resolved, 
finally, by unanimous consent, to leave the wilderness in which, 
however hospitable had been the natives, they had found little 
besides suffering and privation. Though without artificers of 
any kind, they commenced building a pinnace. Necessity sup- 
plied the deficiencies of art ; and the brigantine rose rapidly 
under their hands. The luxuriant pine forests around them 
yielded resin and moss for calking. The Indians brought 
them cordage for tackle ; and their own shirts and bed hnen 
furnished tlie sails. The brigantine was soon ready for sea, 
and, a fair wind offering, the adventurers prepared to depart. 

The Indians, to whom they left all their unnecessary mer- 
chandise, beheld their departure with a lively sorrow ; while 
the poor colonists, themselves, " drunken with the too excessive 
joy which they had conceived for their returning into Fi-ance, 
without regarding the inconstancy of the wind, put out to sea, 
and with so slender a supply of victuals, that the end of their 
enterprise became unlucky and unfortunate." '^ 

20. ^\hlxt followed among the people of the fort? 21. What was the fate of Albert? 
22. What became of La Chere ? 28. After Albert was slain, who was chosen leader? 
24. His character? 25. What made the Huguenots despond? 2G, What did they re- 
solve V 27. How did they build and rig their vessel ? 



FATE OF THE FIRST COLONY. 23 

For a time, hoAvever, fortune smiled upon their progress. 
They had sailed, without mishap, a full third of their way, 
when they were surprised by a calm. For three weeks they 
made but twenty-five leagues ; and, to add to their trials, their 
supplies foiled them. Twelve grains of corn, daily, were made 
to answer the cravings of their hunger ; and, even this resource, 
so carefully computed, lasted but a little while. Their shoes 
and leathern jerkins became their only remaining food, and 
death appeared among them, and relieved their misery by 
thinning their numbers. 

The picture of their distress is not yet complete. " Besides 
this extreme famine, which did so grievously oppress them, 
they were constrained to cast the water continually out, which, 
on all sides, entered into their bark." 

Each day added to their sufferings, so that, in the simple but 
strong language of the old chronicler, " being now more out of 
hope than ever, to escape this extreme peril, they cared not to 
cast out the w^ater, which now was almost ready to drown 
them, and, as men, resolved to die, every one fell down back- 
ward, and gave themselves over altogether, to the will of the 
waves." 

From this condition of despair, one among their number, the 
man La Chere, who had been exiled by Captain Albert, and 
who seems to have been of a character to justify the interest 
which his j)eople took in his fate, was the first to recover. He 
encouraged them to take heart, saying they could now have 
but a little way to sail, and assured them that, if the wind held, 
they should make land within three days. 

This encouragement prompted them to renew their efforts. 
They recommenced the task of throwing out the water from 
their sinking vessel, ;tnd endured for three days longer without 
drink or food. At the end of this time, seeing no land, they 
once more gave themselves up to despair. The want of food 
was their greatest evil, and the same person, La Chere, whose 
words had encouraged them so long, again came to their relief. 

He proposed that one of their number should die for the 

28. What sort of voyage bad they ? 29. W^hat was they reduced to cat? 30. How 
did La Chere show himself a hero ? 



24 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 

safety of the resit. The lot fell to himself; and, without strug- 
gle or reluctance, he bared his neck to the stroke. They 
greedily drank of his blood, while his flesh, distributed equally 
among them, enabled them to bear a little longer, until " God 
of his goodness, using his accustomed favor, changed their sor- 
row into joy, and showed unto them a sight of land. Whereof 
they were so exceeding glad, that the pleasure caused them to 
remain a long time as men without sense ; whereby they let 
the pinnace float this way, or that way, without holding any 
right way or course." 

In, this state, they were picked up by an English vessel, 
which carried the few and feeble survivors of this expedition 
into England. Thus ended the first effort of the modern Eu- 
ropean world to found a permanent colony upon that portion of 
the continent of North America, which is now covered by the 
confederacy of the United States. 

31. "What was Ms fate? 32, What their fate, and whither carried ? 



SECOND COLONY. — FORT CAROLINE. 26 



CHAPTER III. 

SECOND COLONY. — FORT CAROLINE. 

Meanwhile, a treacherous peace had been made between 
the imbecile Charles, and the Protestant portion of his subjects. 
This peace enabled Coligny to direct his attention to the forlorn 
colony which had been left in Carolina. Its fate was as yet un- 
known in France. To relieve the colonists, three ships were 
given for the service, and placed under the command of Rene 
Laudonniere ; a man of intelligence, a seaman rather than a 
soldier, who had been upon the American coast in a former voy- 
age, and was supposed to be the most fitting that could be 
chosen, from many offering, to lead forth the present colony. 

Emigrants offered themselves in numbers; for Florida was, 
at this time, a country of romance. Men dreamed of rich mines 
of gold and silver in its bowels ; they had heard truly of its 
fruits and flowers ; and they believed, in addition, that, under 
its bland airs and genial influence, the duration of human life 
was extended. Laudonniere himself tells of natives whom he 
had seen, who were two hundred and fifty years old, yet had a 
reasonable hope of living forty or fifty years longer. 

These idle fancies, which could only have found credence at a 
period when the wonderful discoveries of Columbus and other 
captains, had opened the fountains of the marvellous beyond the 
control of the ordinary standards of human judgment, readily 
stimulated the passion for adventure, and the armament of Lau- 
donniere was soon rendered complete and ready for the sea. 

A voyage of sixty days brought the voyagers to the shores 
of New France, which they reached the 25th of June, 1564. 

1. How was Coligny at length enabled to send supplies for the colony at Fort 
Charles? 2. Who was sent to relieve the colony? 3. Who was Laxidonulere ? 
4. What was then tlionght of Fkirida in Europe ? 5. What does Laudonniere say of 
the age of tiie red men V 0. Wlicn did Laudonniere reach tlie shores of New France? 

9 



2r> HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

They proceeded to May river, were they were received by the 
Indians with the warmest shows of friendship. They carried 
Laiidonniere to see a pillar of stone which Eibault had set up 
in a former voyage, and the satisfaction of the Europeans may 
be imagined, when they beheld the pillar crowned with chaplets 
of laurels and other flowers, while its base was encircled with 
baskets of provisions, with which these generous children of the 
forest testified the unqualified warmth of their friendship for 
their strange visitors. The Indians had learned glibly to pro- 
nounce the French word "ami," signifying "friend;" and with 
this word in their mouths, men and women followed in crowds 
the progress of the vessels, as they coasted along the shore, 
showing a degree of attachment for their visitors, which seems 
to have had the unusual effect of producing a corresponding 
kindness in return. 

The French did not abuse a confidence so courteously ex- 
pressed, and the future pages of this narrative, however painful 
to read where the dealings of the Europeans with each other 
are recorded, bear few evidences of that cruelty and wrong 
towards the red man which blacken so many of the histories of 
European conquest. 

Laudonniere, after some delays, in which he seemed to have 
almost forgotten one of the objects of his voyage, resumed it 
and proceeded nortliAvardly, until he received tidings of the fate 
of the colony he came to succor. The news discouraged him 
in his design of visiting Port Royal. He stopped short, and, 
for various reasons, resolved upon establishing his new settle- 
ment on the river May — the present St. John's in Florida. 
A small hill was chosen, a little retired from the northern bank 
of the river, upon which he erected the arms of France ; and, 
with favorable auspices, springing rather from his hopes and 
fancies, than from any obvious superiority in the place of his 
choice over that which he had resolved to desert, he commenced 
the foundation of the second European fortress in North 
America. 

7. Where did he land ? 8. How did the red men receive liim ? 9. lIoM did l)Oth 
]):irMes behave ? 10. Finding the colony of fort Charles abandoned, where did Lau- 
donniere found his new settlement? 



SECOND COLONY. — FORT CAROLINE. 27 

The site chosen, though greatly inferior to that of Port Royal, 
had its attractions also. " Upon the top of the hill," in the 
warm language of Laudonniere, " are nothing else but cedars, 
palmes, and bay trees, of so sovereign odor, that balme sraelleth 
nothing in comparison. The trees were environed round with 
vines, bearing grapes in such quantity, that the number would 
suffice to make the place habitable. Touching the pleasure of 
the place, the sea may be seen plane and open from it ; and 
more than five great leagues off, near the river Belle, a man 
may behold the meadows divided asunder into isles and islets, in- 
terlacing one another. Briefly, the place is so pleasant, that those 
which are melancholick, would be forced to change their humour." 

The objections to Port Royal, exaggerated by the disastrous 
termination of the first settlement, are fitly opposed to this glow- 
ing description. " On the other side," says the same commander, 
" if we pass farther north to seek out Port Royal, it would be 
neither^ very profitable nor convenient ; at least if we should 
give credit to tlie report of them which remained there a long 
time, although the haven were one of the fairest of the West 
Indies. In this case the question is not so much of the beauty 
of the place, as of things necessary to sustain life. It is much 
more needful to us to plant in places plentiful of victual, than 
in goodly havens, fair, deep, and pleasant to the view. In con- 
sideration whereof, I was of opinion to seat ourselves about the 
river of May ; seeing also, that in our first voyage we found the 
same only among all the rest, to abound in maize and corne, 
besides the gold and silver that ivas found there ; a thing that 
put me in hoj^e of some happy discovery in time to corned 

The fort was built in shape of a triangle ; the landside, 
which looked westwardly, was faced by a little trench, and 
" raised with terraces, made in form of a battlement, nine foot 
high ;" the river side was enclosed with " a palisado of planks of 
timber, after the manner that gabions are made." On the south 
side there was a bastion, which contained a room for the ammu- 
nition. The fabric was built of turf, fagots, and sand, and re- 
mains of this primitive fortress are understood to have been since 
discovered. When finished, it was named with all due ceremo- 

11. How does he describe the place ? 12. Describe the furtV 



28 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

nies, La Caroline, in Iionor of the reigning monarch. The 
name thus conferred, extended over the whole country, a full 
century before it was occupied by the English. It remained 
unchanged, and was adoped by them, as it equally served to dis- 
tinguish their obligations to Charles II., of England, under 
whose auspices and charter the first permanent European 
colony was settled in Carolina. 

Like their predecessors, the colonists under Laudonniere, 
were well received and kindly treated by the natives of the 
country. At the first, this reception was natural enough. 
Pleased with the novelty of such an advent, the poor savages 
did not anticipate the constant drain upon their limited re- 
sources, which would follow the coming of the French. Simple 
and uncalculating, they did not reflect how inadequate would be 
the supplies of their little corn crops, to meet the wants of so 
many additional mouths ; and it was only when their own utter 
impoverishment and famine ensued from their unwise hospitality, 
that they became conscious of their error. When they with- 
held their stores, the necessities of the strangers overcame all 
their scruples. Laudonniere took an unbecoming part in their 
petty wars, robbed their granaries, and made enemies of all 
around him. 

The inevitable consequences of such a condition of things, 
ensued among the colonists. Disaffection followed, the authority 
of their leader was defied, and mutinous disorders became fre- 
quent. The emigrants to a new country, at its first settlement, 
are generally of a desperate complexion. Those under Lau- 
donniere were particularly so. The civil wars through which 
they had just passed in France, had given them a taste for in- 
subordination ; and, appreciating their wants and habits, one* 
La Roquette, a common soldier, conceived the idea of deposing 
h\< commander. 

lie claimed to be a magician, and pretended, by reason of his 
a It, to have discovered a mine of gold or silver, at no great dis- 
tance up the river. He invited his comrades to join with him 

13. Its name ? 14. What was the subsequent use of this name ? 15. What was the 
c(mduct of th*^ rod men? 16. AVhat of Laudonniere? 17. What of the colonists? 
18. WHio was La Roquette ? 



SECOND COLONY. — FORT CAROLINE. 29 

in effecting this discovery. He pledged his life on the issue. 
Some trifling acquisitions of silver which they had made, by 
trade among the Indians, strengthened his assurances, which 
soon became generally believed. He found an active coadjutor 
in another soldier, named La Genre, wdio had taken offence at 
Laudonniere, because he had been denied the command of the 
packet which returned to France. 

These w^retches conspired the death of Laudonniere ; first by 
poison, then by an explosion of gunpowder. Their schemes 
failed, most probably through their own want of courage. 
Meanwhile, a Captain Bourdet arrived at the settlement, with 
an additional body of soldiers from France, which timely event 
perhaps, restrained the more open development of hostility. 

Laudonniere, thus strengthened, seized this occasion to ex- 
amine into the conduct of La Genre, who had shown himself 
the most active among the discontents. The chief officers were 
assembled for this purpose, but the criminal fled to the woods, 
and took shelter with the Indians. 

After the departure of Bourdet, the conspirators, no longer 
restrained by the presence of numbers, resumed their evil prac- 
tices. Availing themselves of the sickness of their commander, 
they put themselves in complete armor, and under the guidance 
of three ringleaders, Fourneaux, La Croix, and Stephen le Gene- 
vois, they penetrated his chamber and seized upon his person. 
Depriving him of his arras, they carried him on board ship, 
where they extorted from him, under the most atrocious threats, 
a sort of passport or commission for the seas, which they imme- 
diately employed to cover a premeditated course of piracy. 

They then seized two of his vessels, and departing for the West 
India islands, where they succeeded in capturing the governor of 
Jamaica, and possessing themselves of considerable w^ealth be- 
sides. They demanded a large sum for his ransom, and in or- 
der to procure it, permitted him to send messengers to his wife. 

The wily governor contrived, by the same messengers, to ap- 
prise the captains of his vessels, of his true situation. They 

19. Who was La Genre ? 20. "What did these men conspire to do ? 21. What of 
their schemes? 22. What arrested them? 2o. Who Avere the new conspirators? 
24. What did they to Laudonniere ? 25. What afterwards ? 



30 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

came to his relief, and so completely were the pirates ensnared, 
that the governor, with all his ships and treasure, was rescued 
from their possession. One only of the French vessels escaped 
under the guidance of the pilot, who had been forced by them 
from Fort Caroline, and who, without their knowledge, carried 
her back to May river. 

Want of food compelled the pirates to return to the com- 
mander whom they had deserted, and the opportunity thus af- 
forded for avenging his own wrong, and punishing the criminals 
against his authority, was not suffered to escape. Four of the 
chief conspirators were seized, condemned, and executed, ^ an 
example to the rest ; and this summary justice done, the discon- 
tents and strifes of the colony were ended for a brief period. 

Laudonniere was soon after this relieved from some of the 
cares of his government. Kibault arrived from France in com- 
mand of a well-appointed fleet, and with a commission to super- 
cede him. Some mutual distrusts and jealousies between the 
two commanders, were reconciled after a friendly explanation, 
but the former, though offered equal authority with Ribault, re- 
solved on yielding up his charge. 

His successor had scarcely commenced his duties, before he 
was beset by dangers of a new and formidable character. His 
fleet had been closely followed from Europe by one under the 
command of Pedro Melendez de Avilez, a Spanish captain of 
great renown at that period, a bigoted religionist, but an able 
soldier. In the command of a far superior force to that of Ei- 
bault, Melendez seemed to be advised of all the movements of 
the latter ; and it is the conviction of most historians, that his 
master, the king of Spain, had been duly informed by Charles 
IX. of France, that the Huguenot interest in the new world was 
one which it did not concern him to maintain. The indifference, 
at least, of the one Catholic monarch, readily surrendered to the 
tender mercies of another, a people who had audaciously with- 
drawn themselves from that spiritual control of Rome, which 
they both equally acknowledged. There is no question that the 

2G. How were their piracies arrested ? 27. What was their fate ? 28. Who succeed- 
ed Laudonniere in the government ? 29. What enemy followed EibauU from Europe ? 
SO. Who was Pedro Melendez V 31. By what European powers was his hostility to 
the Huguenots encouraged V 



SECOND COLONY. — FORT CAROLINE. 31 

Spaniards knew of all the movements, objects, and strength of 
armament of the Huguenot commander. 

Melendez was chosen to conduct an enterprise which w^as 
considered of equal importance to the interests of church and 
state. The French colonists were Protestants, and they were 
supposed to be trespassers upon a territory to which, under the 
general name of Florida, the Spaniards asserted an exclusive 
title. Melendez was invested with the swelling title of a Spanish 
Adelantado. The hereditary government of the Floridas was 
conferred upon him, and, at the call of the church, three thou- 
sand men volunteered to crowd his armament, which consisted 
of nearly twenty vessels. 

But, deserted by their earthly monarch, the Huguenots were 
for a time, indirectly, the care of heaven. The fleet of Me- 
lendez was met by storms, and his force lessened ere he reached 
the coasts of Florida, to one third of its original strength. 

This disaster, however, did not lessen the confidence of the 
Spaniard in his own fortune, and the bigotry of his soul gave a 
degree of enthusiasm to his resolve, which supplied the defi- 
ciencies of his armament. He rebuked the council of those who 
advised, in the shattered state of iiis vessels, and the diminished 
force of his crews, that for the present, the expedition should be 
abandoned. "The Almighty," said he, "has thus reduced our 
strength that his own may more completely do the w^ork." 

Sailing along the coast, he discovered a fine haven and beau- 
tiful river, to which he gave the name of St. Augustine, and 
where he subsequently founded the noble fortress of that place. 
Continuing his route northwardly, he discovered a portion of the 
fleet of E-ibault. The French, as he approached, demanded 
his name and object. 

" I am Melendez of Spain," was the reply : " I am sent with 
strict orders from my king, to gibbet and behead all the Pro- 
testants in these regions. The Frenchman who is a Catholic I 
will spare — every heretic shall die." 

82. Why? 33. What government and title were conferred upon him by Spain ? 
34. What befel his fleet at first ? 85. How did he endure its disasters ? 36. What did 
he say in respect to them ? 37. How did he name the river wliich he discovered ? 
88. What said he to Eibault wlien the two fleets first encountered? 



32 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 



CHAPTER IV. 

FATE OF FORT CAROLINE. 

The language of this reply, the uncompromising hate which 
it expressed, and the threat which it conveyed, struck terror to 
the hearts of the Huofuenots. Feebler in numbers than their 
foes, and unprepared for battle, such as remained in the ships 
resolved upon flight. The approach of evening, while it pre- 
vented them from doing so in the first moment of their alarm, 
saved them also, for the night, from their enemies. But, with 
the dawn of day, they cut their cables, hoisted sail, and stood 
out to sea. They were closely pursued and fired upon all day, 
but escaped by superior sailing. 

Melendez returned to the harbor of St. Augustine, of which 
he took possession in the name of Philip II., Avhom he pro- 
claimed monarch of all America, with the most solemn cer- 
emonies of religion ; and under the favoring auspices of partial 
success, the building of the town, the oldest noAv in the United 
States, was begun. 

While the Spaniards were thus employed, the colonists at 
Fort Caroline were neither idle nor apprehensive. Ribault re- 
solved upon the most manly alternative. He prepared to an- 
ticipate the assaults of the enemy, and seek Melendez at sea. 
Crowding his main strength into his vessels, he left but' a small 
garrison behind for the protection of his women and children, 
the sick of the expedition, and the stores. The garrison under 
Laudonniere, did not exceed eighty men, and not more than 
twenty of these were effective. The heavy ships which had 
fled before Melendez, now joined Ribault, and the French com- 

1. What was the effect upon the Huguenots of the reply of Melendez ? 2. Upon 
what did they resolve ? 3. What then did Melendez ? 4. What ancient town did he 
establish ? 5. What did Eibault resolve ? 6. What force did he leave with Lau^ 
donniere at Fort Caroline ? 



PATE OF FORT CAROLINE. 33 

mander proceeded south, with almost certain assurances of 
success. 

He found the fleet of Melendez without its complement of 
men, who were on shore, and moored in a situation that seemed 
to make its fate inevitable. Two hours would have suiliced for 
its destruction, and would have placed in the hands of Ribault 
sufficient means for the annihilation of his enemy ; but one of 
those sudden tempests, so common in those latitudes, suddenly 
arose, baffled his hopes, and drove his vessels down the gulf of 
Florida. The storm lasted from the first week in September 
to the beginning of the following month, and in that time the 
ships of Ribault were dashed to pieces against the rocks, fall 
fifty leagues south of Fort Caroline. The men escaped only 
with their lives. 

This disaster gave an entirely new aspect to the fortunes of 
Melendez. Without knowing the extent of Ribault's misfortune, 
he at least knew, from the violence and long-continuance of the 
storm, that many days must elapse before Ribault could return 
to his colony ; and of this conviction he availed himself with 
that promptness and boldness which distinguished his character, 
and which had shown more worthily in the prosecution of any 
nobler object. With a fanatical indifference to toil, he led five 
hundred picked troops, overland through the lakes, wastes, and 
forests which divided St. Augustine from Fort Caroline, and 
had sheltered himself from sight in the forests which surround 
it, before Laudonniere had a suspicion of his having left St. 
Augustine. 

Cruel and dark, if not strange, was the superstition which 
seems to have clouded the minds, and embittered the hearts of 
these stern adventurers. The massacre of the French as her- 
etics, had been- long before deliberately resolved upon. Sol- 
emnly, on bended knee in prayer to the Almighty, did they pre- 
pare themselves for this unhallowed sacrifice. From prayer 
they rushed to slaughter ; the feeble garrison was surprised, and 

7. How did Eibault find the fleet of Melendez? 8. What saved the latter? 
9, What befel the fleet of Eibault ? 10. What was the next enterprise of Melendez ? 
11. What was the dark fanaticism of Melendez ? 12. What did he eflfect at Fort Car- 
oline V 

2* 



34 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLIJ^A. 

and dreadful was the carnage that ensued. The old, the sick, 
^vomen, and children, were alike massacred. The humanity of 
Melendez, after the havoc had raged for some time, tardily in- 
terposed to save such of the women and the children under fif- 
teen years, as still survived. But many of the garrison w^ere 
preserved for a more terrible sacrifice. As if a distinct testimony 
were needed to show that this atrocious consummation of liis 
crime was an act of faith, and a tribute to that gentle and be- 
nignant God who came only to propitiate and save. The living 
and the dying, after the fury of the fight was over, were hung 
together upon the boughs of a tree, and left to shrivel in the sun. 

An inscription upon a stone beneath, declared the motive of 
this meritorious deed. " We do this," wrote the fanatic, " not 
to Frenchmen, but to heretics." 

Nearly two hundred persons were massacred. A few, leaping 
from the parapet when all was lost, escaped into the woods. 
Among these were Laudonniere, Challus, and Le Moyne, a 
painter who had been sent out with tlie colony, with an especial 
regard to the exercise of his art. From these we gather the 
horrors of the scene, which was not yet finished. But whither 
should the fugitives turn ? Death was everywhere around them ; 
the forests had no refuge, the sea no hiding-place. " Shall we 
surrender to the Spaniards, and appeal to their mercy?" became 
the question among them. "No!" said Challus, "Let us trust 
in the mercy of God — we can not look for mercy to these 
men." 

Unfortunately, there were some who refused to adopt this 
resolution. They had hopes that the tiger rage of their con- 
querors w^as already sufficiently glutted by the blood which they 
had drank. They gave themselves up, and shared the fate of 
their comrades. Those who followed the council of Challus, 
found their way to the seaside, and were received on board of 
two French vessels under the command of the son of Ribault, 
which had lingered in the harbor, and had dropped down the 
river beyond the reach of cannon, as soon as they discovered the 

IS. Of wliat crime was he guilty when he hud overcome the garrison ? 14. "What 
inscription did he write over the men he murdered ? 15. How many were massacred ? 
16. Who escaped? 17. Who was Le Moyne? IS. AVhat said Challus? 19. "What 
other massacre followed '' 



PATE OF FORT CAROLINE. 35 

fate of the fort. Mass was said when the carnage was over ; 
and while the earth was yet smeared and soaking with the 
blood of men made in God's likeness, the site was chosen for a 
church to be dedicated to God. 

The work thoroughly finished, the butcher led his soldiers 
back to St. Augustine in all haste, as he feared the possible re- 
taliation of Ribault upon that post. Of the fate of this unfor- 
tunate commander he knew nothing. Cast upon the shore with 
a small supply of provisions, and only in part provided with the 
w^eapons of defence, the Frenchmen were almost abandoned to 
despair. A long stretch of swamp and forest, filled with en- 
emies, heathen and Christian, equally hostile and equally savage, 
lay between them and their hope of and supposed refuge. It 
remained for them only to reach Fort Caroline, or surrender 
themselves to the doubtful mercies of the Spaniards. 

They resolved to go forward, and were divided into two bodies 
for this purpose. It is probable that thus divided they pursued 
different routes, with the view to the more easy procuring of 
their food. 

One of these bodies, preceding the other, reached the banks 
of a small river twelve miles south of St. Augustine. Before 
they could procure the means of eflTecting the passage, they 
were encountered by Melendez at the head of forty soldiers. 
Then, for the first time, he learned the fate of Ribault's fleet. 

The shipwrecked men were in a state of helpless weakness, 
half famished, subdued in spirit, wanting equally in food and 
water. Melendez invited them to rely on .his compassion. His 
invitation was complied with. The French yielded by capit 
ulation, and were brought across the river by small divisions, 
in a single boat. As the captives stepped upon the bank occu- 
pied by their enemies, their hands were tied behind them; a 
measure of precaution which probably did not alarm them, as 
they must have seen the smallness of the Spanish force. Two 
hundred were transported in this manner, and when brought 
together in the forests, at some distance from, and out of sight 

20. Under what circunistane.es did Melendez choose a site for a church? 21. What 
was the con<iition of the shipwrecked Freiic h under Eibault? 22. HoAV did they di- 
vide? 28. Where did tlie first division mc^'t Melendez? 



36 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

of their companions, who were yet to cross, "at a line marked 
with his cane upon the sand," and, at a signal from Melendez, 
tliey were set upon and butchered. Their carcasses were left 
unburied where tliey were slain. _ 

A few days elapsed, when the remaining party, under Ribault 
himself, appeared at the same river, and were met, like the for- 
mer, by the inveterate Spaniard. On this occasion, Melendez 
brought wnth him a more imposing force. A protracted nego- 
tiation followed, and a large ransom was offered by the PVench- 
men ; but Melendez deliberately pacing^he river bank, and per- 
mitting the negotiators to come and go at their pleasure, yet 
varied nothing from his first expressed resolution. He required 
them to surrender at discretion. He is even said to have set 
food and refreshments before them, while meditating a cruelty 
toward them, like that which he had so inflexibly shown their 
comrades. 

Ribault, himself, crossed the river with several of his officers, 
without restraint, but without moving the stern decision of the 
Spaniard. He was respectfully received, conducted to the 
plain, where the carcasses of the slaughtered party which pre- 
ceded him lay bare to the elements, was informed of the man- 
ner of their fate, and of those left in Fort Caroline, and was 
still required to surrender at discretion. 

It was in vain that these wretched men urged that, as the 
two monarchs of their respective countries were not only at 
peace, but in alliance, they could not be treated as enemies. 
The answer was, " the catholic French are our friends and 
allies ; but, with heretics, I w^age a war of extermination. In 
this, I serve both monarchs. I came to Florida to establish 
the Catholic faith. If you are satisfied to yield yourselves to 
my mercy, I will do with you as God shall inspire me. If not, 
choose your own course ; but, do not hope from me either peace 
or friendship." 

With this final answ^er, Ribault returned to his comrades. 
It is somewhat surprising, that a commander wdio has been 

24. "What was its fate? 25. What of the second division ? 26. What the result of 
its negotiations with Melendez? 27. What was the answer of Melendez to the expos- 
tulations of Eibault? - 



FATE OP FORT CAROLINE. 37 

reputed so brave as himself, should have been content to parley 
with such a monster, after so bold an avowal of his resolves, 
and after the unstinted revelation which he had made of the 
treatment of his former captives. It is still more a matter of 
surprise, that he should at length have delivered himself up, on 
any terms, to a wretch so bigoted and sanguinary. The expo- 
sure of the mangled corses of his countrymen, slain as captives, 
and under an assurance of mercy, should have provoked, in the 
surviving French, a resolution to incur any hazards, not merely 
in maintaining the possession of their arms, but in revenging 
their slaughtered brethren. 

But fatigue and starvation subdue, in time, the boldest na- 
tures, and nothing, surely, but the sheer exhaustion of spirit 
and frame could have reconciled the unfortunate Ribault to the 
course which he subsequently adopted. Perhaps, indeed, he 
had some hope from the very audacity of Melendez. He fan- 
cied that the object of the Spaniard was to make the merit of 
his mercy the more — that he was already sated with blood — 
and simply insisted upon the hard terms which he proposed, 
for the gratification of a tenacious pride, which nothing short 
of unqualified surrender could well satisfy. 

Whatever may have been the reasonings of the French com- 
mander, he resolved to submit himself, with one hundred and 
fifty of his followers, to his enemy ; but, the remainder of his 
men, two hundred in number, determined, more wisely, to 
brave every form of danger rather than yield to one who had 
shown himself so merciless. A melancholy separation of 4his 
forlorn band took place. Ribault led his division into the 
hands of Melendez, and, being tied with ten others, suffered 
with the rest. The two hundred, who retained their arms, met 
with a milder fate. Returning to the wrecks of their vessels, 
they raised a temporary fortress for their defence, and pro- 
ceeded to build a ship to effect their escape. 

But their inhuman enemy was not willing to leave his work 
unfinished. He pursued them to their place of partial refuge. 
From this they were driven, and, flying to an elevated piece 

28. How was Ribault supposed to reason upon this answer? 29. What was his fate ? 



38 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

of ground, they prepared for the la>t conflict, resolved to sell 
their lives dearly if they could not repulse their foe. 

Their desperate demeanor and unyielding aspect, together 
with the advantage of their position, compelled Melendez to 
abate something of his inveteracy and hate. 

A negotiation was opened, and they received a solemn assur- 
ance of security and kind treatment — an assurance which, in 
this case, was followed by no breach of good faith. But no 
assurance, however solemn, from those who had been so faith- 
less before, could satisfy the commander of this little party. 
His name is not given us, but his unbending resolution of char- 
acter merits every encomium. He resolved rather to trust 
the forest thickets, with their troops of savage men and savage 
beasts, than such monsters as the Spaniards had shown them- 
selves. With twenty followers, who felt like himself, he sepa- 
rated from the larger company, and disappeared from sight. 
The Spaniards hunted the fugitives in vain. They were never 
heard of more. It is just possible that they found security 
among the red men, in one of their gentler moods, and became 
amalgamated with their tribes. Those who received the pro- 
tection of Melendez, either established themselves in Florida, 
or found their way, at a remote period, to their several homes. 

The French writers assert, that Ribault was flayed alive, his 
body burnt, and his stuflled skin sent to Europe, as a worthy 
trophy of the conqueror, and a fitting tribute to the Christian 
and throned barbarians who then ruled over half the world. 
The number of the victims is computed at nine hundred. The 
Spanish authorities diminish this number, but not the atrocity 
of the deed. Melendez returned to Spain, impoverished but 
triumphant. He was well received by his sovereign, to whom 
his services had been of so grateful a character ; and his only 
human punishment, so far as the knowledge has been obtained, 
is the infamous notoriety which has followed the record of his 
deeds. 

30. Did any of his troop escape this fate ? 81. "What was the effect of their resolve 
to fight and not submit? 32. Was there still another party who did not accept terms 
of the Spaniards? 33. What is supposed to be their fate ? 34. What do the French 
writers assert of the cruelties of Melendez, and the extent of his massacres? 35. Hovr 
was Mc-lendez received, on his return to Europe? 



VENGEANCE OF DE GORGUES. 39 



CHAPTER V. 

VENGEANCE OF DE GORGUES. 

The tidings of these dreadful massacres, when they reached 
France, awakened everywhere, save at court, a burning senti- 
ment of indignation. Thither, they carried an odor, such as 
was offered to the kingly nostrils by the bloody fumes of a like 
massacre, on the day of St. Bartholomew. The French gov- 
ernment heard, with apathy, if not with satisfaction, of an out- 
rage which offended the moral sense of Christian Europe. It 
did not even offer a remonstrance on the destruction of a col- 
ony, which, if maintained, would have given to France an 
empire in the new continent, before England had yet founded 
a plantation. 

But the feeling of the court was not that of the nation. The 
people, Catholic no less than Protestant, burned with the desire 
for vengeance, which they were yet compelled to smother. 
This sentiment was, at length, embodied into form, and found 
utterance in the deeds of a gallant Gascon. 

The Chevalier Dominique de Gorgues — the very personi- 
fication of intense heroism and a noble nature — rose up to 
redress his murdered countrymen and his insulted country. 
He was a Catholic, born at Mont Marsan, county of Cominges. 
His youth had been passed in warlike enterprises, and his 
reputation, as a subaltern officer, was not surpassed by any in 
France. His life had been a series of surprising adventures. 
He had passed from service to service, and won reputation in 
each. He became the captive of the Spaniards, while fighting 
against them, in Italy; and, his obstinate valor, which would 

1. What was the effect upon the French court when these tklings of massacre 
readied the country ? 2. AVhat was the feeling among the people? 8. Who finally 
embodied the po])iilar feeling in form and action ? 4. Who was the Chevalier Domi- 
nique de Gorgnos? 5. Y\^!iHi had l)e('n liis fortunes? 



40 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

have met with the admh-ation of a generous enemy, received 
but chains from his Spanish captors. He was consigned to 
the galleys, and was rescued from its oars only to fall into 
another form of bondage. The prize, in which he rowed, was 
taken by a Turkish corsair. Redeemed from Algerine slavery, 
lie returned to his country in season to revenge its wrongs. 
His own treatment, at the hands of his Spanish captors, may 
have helped to w^arm his indignation. 

By the sale of his property, and the voluntary contributions 
of his friends, he found means for the equipment of a small 
fleet of three vessels. With a crew of one hundred and fifty 
men, he sailed from Bordeaux, on the twenty-second of August, 
1567, disguising his real purposes from the public, by the 
avowed intention of engaging in the slave trade, on the coast 
of Africa. 

Such w^as the nature of the commission under which he 
sailed ; and, the object which he afterward pursued, seems to 
have remained entirely unsuspected. De Gorgues, however, 
had contrived to secure the services of one of the soldiers who 
had escaped, with Laudonniere, from Florida. When fairly at 
sea, he declared his true purpose to his soldiers. He painted, 
in glowing language, the wrongs of his countrymen — the bru- 
tality of the Spaniards — the cries of the thousand widows and 
orphans whom they had made in France — their prayers un- 
heeded — their injuries unredressed. His speech, which is pre- 
served, is a fine specimen of manly eloquence and patriotism. 
It had the desired effect upon his men. With one voice, they 
adopted his resolution. They declared their wish to follow 
him and avenge the murder of their countrymen, and the dis- 
honor done to France. 

De Gorgues, himself, had but the one object. He did not 
seek to colonize ; his force was too small for that. But it was 
sufficient, under his guidance, and moved by his spirit, for the 
purposes of destruction. Nor was his vengeance long delayed. 
The shores of Florida soon after rose in sight, and so entirely 
unsuspicious of danger were the Spaniards, in possession of 

C. What did he resolve? 7. How did he equip liis fleet ? 8. When did he sail, and 
whence ? 9. What was his speech to his followers ? IC. What was his single object ? 



VENGEANCE OF DE GORGUES. 41 

La Caroline, that they gave the fleet of De Gorgues a sahite, 
as it appeared. This salute he returned, the better to confirm 
them in their dangerous security ; and, passing on to the river, 
by the French, called the Seine, he entered it, and came to a 
landing with his men. 

Here, he was soon discovered by a formidable body of the 
savages, headed by no less than eight of their principal chiefs. 
They recognised the French costume and language, and their 
delight was unmeasured. Before De Gorgues could declare 
his purpose, they denounced the Spaniards, as well for their 
murders of the French, as for their own repeated wrongs to 
themselves, and declared their desire to destroy them. 

So desirable an alliance was at once accepted. They were 
provided with pikes, swords, and daggers, and at once embodied 
with the French, though still under the command of their own 
warriors — one of whom, named Olotocara (Holata Cara), 
greatly distinguished himself, in the assault upon the Spanish 
forts-. 

These were three in number; that of La Caroline being 
strengthened by two similar structures, immediately contigu- 
ous. De Gorgues made his approaches with the coolness of 
a veteran. He sent forth spies, both French and Lidian, and 
regulated his assault by their reports. The defences of the 
Spaniards were very complete, and, but for the surprise which 
they experienced, and the terror which they felt at an exagge- 
rated report, which had reached them of the numbers of the 
French, the results might not have been so favorable to the 
cause of vengeance. 

The two small forts were carried by storm, and the men, not 
slain in the assault, were carefully reserved for the final sacri- 
fice, which De Gorgues meditated from the first. The ave- 
nues, leading to La Caroline, w^ere then occupied by the red 
men, so that there remained no possibility of escape for the 
fugitives. This done, De Gorgues proceeded to a deliberate 
survey of all the difficulties of the enterprise. He soon discov- 

11. Where did he land in Florida? 12. Wheat co-operation did he find ? 13. Who 
•was the leader of the red men? 14. IIow did De Gorgues make his approaches to 
the forts of tlie Spaniards? 15. How were the two smaller forts carried? 



42 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

ered that the place must be carried by escalade. It was de- 
fended by three hundred men, under a valiant governor, had a 
large number of culverins, and other cannon, of various sizes, 
plentiful supplies of ammunition, and provision in abundance. 

While the French — having retired to a wood, for shelter 
from the Spanish cannon, which began to play upon them 
warmly from the moment when they came in sight — were 
preparing their ladders for the escalade, the governor of the 
fort precipitated his own defeat. Under an excess of valor, 
he imprudently sallied forth, with sixty of his men, and had 
advanced but a little distance, when he found himself suddenly 
surrounded by the French, under De Gorgues and his lieu- 
tenant, Cazenove, who cut off his return, and slew his party, to 
a man, on the spot where they were encountered. 

The besieged, who beheld this exploit, now left without a 
commander, were so terrified by the event, that, in their panic, 
they fled from their defences, and sought shelter in the neigh- 
boring thickets. But here they were met by the Indians, 
under Olotocara, who drove them back upon the French. 
Death encountered them on all sides, and those who survived 
the conflict were reserved for a more distinguished and m.ore 
cruel fate. They were conducted, with those taken at the 
smaller forts, to the trees on which Melendez had hung the 
Frenchmen, under Ribault, and suspended to the same boughs. 
Taking down the inscription of Melendez, De Gorgues put 
another, much more appropriate, in its place. " I do this," 
said the writing — which was impressed by a searing-iron upon 
a pine plank — "I do this, not to Spaniards, nor Catholics ; but 
to traitors, robbers, and murderers." 

The victor had sternly carried out his resolution of ven- 
geance. He had proved himself as inflexibly just as he was 
merciless, since the victims had been the offenders, or had so 
far approved and participated in the crime for which they 
were punished, as to leave us little occasion for rebuke or 

16. How was La Caroline defended? 17. Of what imprudence was its governor 
guilty? IS. What was the fate of the sortie which he led? 19. What was tlie effect 
upon the garrison of the success of De Gorgues? 20. What fate did De Gorgues re- 
serve for the captives ? 21. What was the Inscription wliich lie substituted for that 
of Melendez ? 



VENGEANCE OF DE GORGUES. 43 

regret. It is, perhaps, only by a terrible retribution like this, 
that guilt is taught to pause in the career of crime, to doubt its 
own security, and forbear the deed of blood which may waken 
up such an avenger. 

Having set forth on this single purpose, its completion left 
the generous Gascon little more to do. He had no selfish 
objects of conquest or colonization. The stern and undivided 
desire of his mind was satisfied ; and, razing to its foundation 
the fort which had been the theatre of such a sanguinary story, 
he returned to France to receive, not the honors and rewards 
of its monarch, but persecution and exile. The court of France 
refused its countenance to his deeds ; and, pursued by the ma- 
lignant hostility of Spain, he found a home in Portugal, where 
he was invited into honorable, and, to hira, grateful service, in 
the wars then waging, by that country, against the Spaniards ; 
but he died of wounded pride, and a painful sense of the ill 
treatment of his sovereign, ere he entered upon foreign service. 
His memory can not be forgotton, and his adventures might 
well become a story of their own. 

22. IIow did France receive the avenger of ilie Huguenots, and wliat of his death? 



BOOK II. 

THE CAROLINAS UNDER THE LORD-PROPRIETORS. ENGLISH. 



CHAPTER I. 

FIRST SETTLEMENT OF THE ENGLISH ON ASHLEY KIVER. 

Thus ended the ill-fated and badly conducted expeditions 
of the French to Carolina, and the initial attempt of Coligny to 
provide, in the wildernesses of the new world, a refuge from 
the tyrannies and persecutions of the old. France not only 
disowned the expedition of De Gorgues, but relinquished all 
pretensions to Florida. Spain and Britain continued to assert 
their claims upon the territory, but the former alone main- 
tained her possession of it. 

But the massacres, which De Gorgues had avenged, 
aroused, in Protestant England, a feeling of indignation, like 
that which it had awakened in Catholic France. Her eye was 
drawn to a region, of which tales, equally bloody and attrac- 
tive, had been told. The wrecked survivors of La Caroline 
had been, as we will remember, carried into England, and had 
their story to tell of the country. Sir John Hawkins, besides, 
a famous English navigator of this period, had visited the 
colony, under Laudonniere, and could and did make his report, 
also, of the character of the country, and the imbecility of the 
French colony. 

Walter Raleigh, then fighting the battles of the Huguenots, 
on the continent, under the banners of Coligny, listened with 
a keen ear to the strange narratives which, on every hand, he 
heard of the wild and picturesque regions of Florida. From 

1. Did France renew her attempt to colonize in Florida ? 2. What nation contin- 
ued to assert their rights in that territory? 8. How was England roused to the work 
of colonization ? 4. What of Sir John Hawkins ? 5. What of Walter Raleigh ? 



SETTLEMENT OP^ THE ENGLISH ON ASHLEY RIVER. 45 

the ideas and feelings thus awakened in his mind, we may trace 
that passion for adventure in the new world, which led him to 
the shores of North Carolina. 

He obtained a patent, in March, 1584, for such lands as he 
should discover, not in possession of any Christian prince or 
people, and sent out two ships the month following. They 
reached the shores of the western continent, which saluted 
them with a fragrance which was " as if they had been in the 
midst of some delicate garden, abounding with all kinds of 
odoriferous flowers." They ranged the coast, for one hundred 
and twenty miles, in search of a convenient harbor, entered the 
first haven which offered, and, landing on the island of Woko- 
ken, the southernmost of the islands forming the Ocracocke 
inlet, took solemn possession of the country, in the name of 
the Virgin Queen. 

The crews were landed on the fourth day of July ; a day 
that has since been made to distinguish a national epoch in 
America. A colony was established, and the new continent, 
for the first time, received the English name of North and 
South Virginia. All lands lying toward the St. Lawrence, 
from the northern boundary of the Virginia province, belonged 
to the northern, and all thence to the southward, as far as the 
gulf of Florida, to the southern district. 

The colony of Raleigh failed, after a painful but short exist- 
ence of a few years. The settlers disappeared, and no traces 
of their flight were found, and no knowledge of their fate has 
ever become known to the historians. They probably sank, 
under the united assaults of famine and their Indian neighbors. 

English discovery now became continuous along the coasts 
of the continent. The shores, bays, headlands, and harbors, 
of New England, were successively discovered; and, in 1607, 
under the genius of the celebrated John Smith, the first per- 
manent colony of England, in America, was planted at James' 
River. 

6. What was the date of his patent for discovery? 7. Where did his ships go? 
8. Of what lands did the Englisli tal^e possession, and Avhen ? 9. How did they name 
them? 10. What became of this cohiny ? 11. Where, and when, was the first per- 
manent English colony established, in America? 



46 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

In 1620, a settlement was efFected in New England; and, 
ten years after, a grant was made to Sir Robert Heath, attor- 
ney-general of Charles I., of all that region which stretches 
southward of the Virginia coast, from the thirty-sixth degree 
of north latitude, comprehending the Louisiana territory, on 
the Mississippi, by the name of Carolana. It is said that Sir 
Robert conveyed his right to the earl of Arundel ; that this 
earl planted several parts of the country, and afterward con- 
veyed his title to a Doctor Cox, who was at great pains to 
establish his pretensions, explored a part of the country, and 
subsequently memorialized the crown on the subject of his 
claims. Heath's charter was, however, declared void, because 
of the failure of the grantees to comply with certain of its 
conditions ; and, for thirty years after, the territories of Caro- 
lina remained unsettled. 

At length, in 1663, Edward, earl of Clarendon, and several 
associates, formed a project for planting a colony there. They 
obtained from Charles IT. a charter conveying all the lands 
lying between the olst and 36th degrees of north latitude. The 
charter states that the applicants, " excited by a laudable and 
pious zeal for the propagation of the gospel, beg a certain 
country in the parts of America not yet cultivated and planted, 
and only inhabited by a barbarous people, having no knowledge 
of God." 

This was the pious pretence of the time, which seems, as a 
matter of course, to have furnished the burden of every sucli 
prayer. It may be said in this place that the efforts were but 
few and feebly sustained, to promote the professed objects of . 
the memorial. The chartists, beside the earl of Clarendon, 
were George, duke of Albemarle ; William, lord Craven ; 
John, lord Berkeley ; Antony, lord Ashley ; Sir George Car- 
teret, Sir William Berkeley, an-d Sir John Colleton. 

Neither of these noblemen was of a character to warrant the 
supposition that any pious purposes^ntered seriously into their 
plans for the settlement of their colony. Clarendon, though 

12. When was the first settlement made in New England? 18. At Avhat time, and 
of what region, was a grant made to Sir Robert Heath? 14. Why was his cliarlcr 
declared void ? 15. What was the next English charter? — when? IG. To whom ? 



SETTLEMENT OP THE ENGLISH ON ASHLEY RIVER. 47 

shrewd and sagacious as a politician, was of a mean, covetous 
nature ; the duke of Albemarle was George Monk, famous for 
the part which he took in the restoration of the Stuarts — a 
soldier and selfish politician ; Craven w^as a brave old soldier, 
but neither a good Christian nor a philosopher; Ashley-Cooper, 
afterwards earl of Shaftesbury, the most highly endowed, intel- 
lectually, of all the proprietors, was a subtle mercurial states- 
man — a restless intriguer, unstable in aim, and faithless in 
principle and conduct ; Colleton was a royalist, but one of no 
distinction ; the two Berkeleys, Lord John and Sir William — 
the latter better known as governor of Yii-ginia, "were wrong- 
headed and obstinate personages ; Carteret was neither too wise 
nor too honest. They represented the cavaliers of that day; 
but these had sadly degenerated from the period when Charles 
the First took the field against his subjects. They w^ere only 
so many rapacious courtiers, seeking a selfish object, and with- 
out either the capital to achieve or the capacity to design a plan 
of colonial establishment, wdiich should answer their own de- 
sires. 

The grant w^hich they obtained, comprised a territory of 
which, subsequently, the several states of South Carolina, North 
Carolina, and Georgia were composed. Two years after this 
grant, it was enlarged by a second, making its boundaries from 
twenty-nine degrees of north latitude to thirty-six degrees and 
forty seconds, and from these points on the seacoast westward 
in parallel lines to the Pacific ocean. 

Of this immense region, the king constituted them absolute 
lords and proprietors, reserving to himself, his heirs, and suc- 
cessors, the simple sovereignty of the country. He invested 
them with all the rights, jurisdiction, royalties, privileges, and 
liberties wnthin the bounds of their province, to hold, use, and 
enjoy the same, in as ample a manner as the bishop of Durham 
did in that county-palatine in England. The Bahama islands 
w'ere subsequently included in the gift of the monarch. 

17. W^hat was the extent of territory which it covered ? 18. By what king con- 
ferred ? 19. For what avowed objects ? 20. How are the lord-proprietors described ? 
21. What further grants were made them? 22. What rights did the charters confer 
«pon them ? 23. What was the reservation of power to the crown ? 24. What islands 
were afterwards included in the grant? 



48 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

Agreeably to these powers, the proprietors proceeded to 
frame a system of laws for the colony which they projected. 
Locke, the well-known philosopher, was summoned to this work, 
and the largest expectations were entertained in consequence 
of his co-operation. Locke, though subsequently one of the pro- 
prietors, was, at the beginning, simply the secretary of the earl 
of Shaftesbury. The probability is, that, in preparing the con- 
stitution for the Carolinas, he rather carried out the notions of 
that versatile nobleman than his own. It may be doubted if his 
agency extended much beyond that of one chosen as a ready 
writer to express lucidly a scheme of government which was 
somewhat chaotically conceived. 

The code of laws called the " Fundamental Constitutions," 
which was devised, and which subsequently became unpopular, 
in the colony, is not certainly the work of his hands. It is 
ascribed by Oldmixon, a contemporary, to the earl of Shaftes- 
bury, one of the proprietors. The most striking feature in this 
code provided for the creation of a nobility, consisting of land- 
graves, cassiques, and barons. These were to be graduated by 
the landed estates which were granted with the dignity; the 
eldest of the proprietary lords was to be the superior, with the 
title of Palatine, and the people were to be serfs. Their ten- 
ants, and the issue of their tenants, were to be transferred with 
the soil, and not at liberty to leave it, but with the lord's per- 
mission, under hand and seal. 

The whole system was rejected after a few years' experiment, 
It has been harshly judged as the production of a feeble intel- 
lect — the crude conception of a mind conversant rather with 
books than men — with the abstract rather than the practical 
in government and society. And this judgment is certainly true 
of the constitutions in the case in which they were employed. 
They did not suit the absolute conditions of the country, or the 
class of people which subsequently made their way to it. Bui 
contemplating the institution of domestic slavery, as the pro- 
prietors had done from the beginning — a large villanage and a 
wealthy aristocracy, dominating almost without restraint or re- 

25. What is said of Locke's agency ? 26, Who is supposed to have formed the code 
of government ? 27. What were the chief features of this code ? 2T. What is said of 
it? 



SETTLEMENT OP THE ENGLISH ON ASHLEY RIVER. 49 

sponsibility over the whole — the scheme was not without its 
plausibilities. But the feudal tenures were everywhere dying 
out. The time had passed, even in Europe, for such a system ; 
and such could only have been successfully established in the 
wildernesses of the new world by great wealth, supported by 
power and the presence of the lord-proprietors themselves. 
But neither of these was willing to risk his person in the 
enterprise, and their European necessities left them little wealth 
to expend. The settlers were generally poor, and the nobility 
created for the occasion, and from the people, was deficient in 
all those marks of hereditary importance, which, in the minds 
of^men, are found needful to disguise, if not to justify, the ine- 
qualities of fortune. The great destitution of the first settlers 
left them generally without the means of procuring slaves ; and 
the equal necessities, to which all are subject who peril life and 
fortune in a savage forest and on a foreign shore, soon made 
the titular distinctions of the few a miserable mockery, or some- 
thing worse. 

Having devised their plan of government, however, the pro- 
prietors began to advertise for settlers, though nothing seems to 
have been seriously done towards emigration till some time 
after. A colony was formed upon the river Albemarle, and 
another at Cape Fear ; the last of these two was conducted 
from Barbadoes, by John Yeamans, afterwards made a baronet, 
and many of these colonists subsequently found their way to the 
settlement of Ashley river. 

In 1667, an exploring ship was fitted out, and the command 
given to William Sayle, who was simply commissioned to sur- 
vey and give some account of the coast. Sayle seems to have 
been nothing but a sailor. In his passage, he was driven by a 
storm among the Bahamas, of which he acquired some useful 
knowledge. By his representations of their value to Carolina, 
as places of retreat or defence against the Spaniards, the pro- 
prietors obtained an additional grant of them from the king. 

He sailed along the coast of Carolina, observed several navi- 
gable rivers, and a flat country covered with woods. He at- 

29. Of the proprietors? 80. Where did they first form colonies? 31. When was 
Sayle eent out? 82. Whither did lie go ? 



60 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

tempted to go ashore in his boat, but was discouraged by the 
hostile appearance of the savages on the banks. His report, 
on his return to England, was, however, so favorable as to prompt 
the energetic action of the proprietors. Two ships were put un- 
der his command, a number of adventurers were embarked, and, 
well provided with utensils for building and cultivation, together 
with arms and munitions of war, the little armament sailed in 
January, 1670. Twelve thousand pounds was the sum (not 
very extravagant, surely) expended on this venture. 

The fame of Port Royal, of which the name conferred by 
Ribault remained in use among the English, was remembered 
at this time ; and to this river Sayle directed his course. He 
safely reached his port, and proceeded with all due dihgence to 
establish himself. The foundations of a town and government 
were laid at the same time. A parliament was composed and 
invested with legislative power. Already were the laws of 
Shaftesbury and Locke departed from ; and, deeming it im- 
practicable at the very outset, to execute the model which had 
been given them, they determined to follow it as closely as they 
could. As an encouragement to settle at Port Royal, one hun- 
dred and fifty acres of land were given, at an easy quit-rent, to 
every emigrant ; and clothes and provisions bestowed upon all 
who could not provide for themselves. The neighboring red 
men were conciliated by presents and pledges of friendship 
freely exchanged with their cassiques and warriors. Here 
Sayle died in the midst of his labors, having fallen a victim to 
the climate or to fatigue in a warm region, and imder un- 
usual responsibilities. 

This event happened in less than a year after his arrival. It 
led to the extension of the command of Sir John Yeamans, 
who had hitherto ruled the northern plantation about Cape 
Fear over that of Sayle ; and, gathering the planters together, 
"from Clarendon on the north, from Port Royal on the south," 
he resorted, " for the convenience of pasturage and tillage," to 
the banks of Ashley river. There were, probably, other rea- 

83. Did be make a settlement? 84. When was he sent Qut for tliis purpose, and 
•with what armament? 35. Where did he first settle? 36. What encouragements 
■were held out to the colonists ? 37. What was their intoreourse with the red men ? 
88. What happened to Sayle ? 89. Who succeeded Sayle ? 



SETTLEMENT OF THE ENGLISH ON ASHLEY RIVER. 51 

sons which prompted this change of locality. Port Royal Avas 
too near the Spanish settlements and too accessible from the 
sea, while Spain was a great maritime power. 

This removal took place in 1671, and in the same year, "on 
the first highland," was laid the foundations of that settlement 
which we now distinguish as Old Charlestown. 

For some years, this became and continued the capital of the 
southern settlements ; but, as the commerce of the colony in- 
creased, the disadvantages of the position were discovered It 
could not be approached by large vessels at low water. In 
1680, by a formal command of the proprietors, a second re- 
moval took place, the government literally following the people, 
who had in numbers anticipated the legislative action ; and the 
seat of government was transferred to a neck of land called 
Oyster Point, admirably conceived for the purposes of com- 
merce, at the confluence of two spacious and deep rivers, the 
Kiawah and Etiwan, which, in compliment to Lord Shaftes- 
bury, had already been called after him, Ashley and Cooper. 

Here the foundation was laid of the present city of Charles- 
ton. In that year thirty houses were built, though this number 
could have met the wants of but a small portion of the colony. 
The heads of families at the Port Royal settlement alone, whose 
names are preserved to us, are forty-eight in number ; those 
brought from Clarendon by Yeamans could not have been less 
numerous ; and the additions which they must have had from 
the mother-country, during the seven or eight years of their 
stay at the Ashley river settlement, were likely to have been 
very considerable. 

Roundheads and cavaliers alike sought refuge in Carolina, 
wliich, for a long time, remained a pet province of the proprie- 
tors. Liberty of conscience, which the charter professed to 
guaranty, encouraged emigration. The hopes of avarice, the 



40. Why was Beaufort abandoned? 41. Whither did the colonists go, and when? 
42. What were the objections to the new settlement on Ashley river? 43. By what 
name is that site now known ? 44. Whither was the colony removed, and when ? 
45. After whom were the two rivers called ? 40. "What city was founded between 
these rivers ? 47. How many houses were built the first year ? 48. What is conjec- 
tured of the number of inhabitants ? 49. How was emigration from Europe encour- 
aged ? 



62 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

rigor of creditors, the fear ot punishment and persecution, were 
equal incentives to the settlement of this favored but foreign 
region. Groups of settlers, following favorite leaders — the 
victims of some great calamity; or the enthusiastic, under some 
general impulse — were no less frequent than individual emi- 
grants. 

In 1674, when Nova Belgia, now New York, was conquered 
by the English, a number of the Dutch from that place sought 
refuge in Carolina. The proprietors facilitated their desire, and 
provided the ships which conveyed them to Charlestown. They 
were assigned lands on the southwest side of Ashley river, drew 
lots for their property, and founded a town which they called 
Jamestown, but which they afterwards deserted, and spread 
themselves throughout the country, where they were joined by 
greater numbers from ancient Belgium. 

Two vessels filled with foreign, perhaps French, Protestants, 
were transported to Carolina, at the expense of Charles IL, in 
1679 ; and the revocation of the edict of Nantz, a few years 
afterwards, by which the Huguenots were deprived of the only 
s-ecurities of life, liberty, and fortune, which their previous 
struggles had left them, contributed still more largely to the 
infant settlement, and provided Carolina with some of the best 
portions of her growing population. The territory which had 
been soaked with the blood of their countrymen, under Ribault 
and Laudonniere, was endeared to them, probably, on that very 
account ; and they naturally turned their prows to a region 
which so great a sacrifice had so eminently hallowed to the 
purposes of their liberty and worship. 

In 1696, a colony of Congregationalists, from Dorchester in 
Massachusetts, ascended the Ashley river nearly to its head, 
and there founded a town, to which they gave the name of that 
which they had left. Dorchester became a town of some im- 
portance, having a moderately large population and considera- 
ble trade. It is now deserted ; the habitations and inhabitants 
have alike vanished ; but the reverend spire, rising through 

50. In Avhat year and what event brought the Dutch to Charleston ? 51. What peo- 
ple came in 1G79'? 52. By whom sent? 53. What other settlement was made on 
Ashley river in 1696 ?— where and by whom ? 54. What has been the fate of this 
settlement? 



SETTLEMENT OF THE ENGLISH ON ASHLEY RIVER. 53 

the forest trees which surround it, still attests (1840) tlie place 
of their worship, and where so many of them yet repose. 

Various other countries and causes contributed to the growth 
and population of the new settlement. After the Restoration, 
the profligacy of English morals led to constant commotions 
between the two still great parties of cavaliers and puritans. 
The former sought to revenge themselves for the hardships 
which they had suffered during the Protectorate. Having ob- 
tained the ascendency, they retaliated by every means which 
the partiahty of the law, or the evil temper of the court tow- 
ard the puritans, would allow. The latter were uniformly 
encountered with contempt, and commonly with injustice, and 
ardently wished for some distant retreat to which they might 
fly and be secure. 

To prevent open strife between these parties, Charles the 
Second encouraged emigration. Grants of land in Carolina 
were the lures by which the turbulent were beguiled from home; 
and hundreds of dissenters, with their families, embracing the 
proffer, transported themselves to the infant colony. At a 
later period, the wild, roystering cavaliers, who could not be 
provided from an exhausted treasury in England, received 
grants ; and the spectacle was no less strange than grateful to 
behold these parties mingling peacefully in Carolina, who had 
seldom met but in deadly hostility at home. 

Emigrants followed, thougli slowly, from Switzerland, Ger- 
many, and Holland ; and the Santee, the Congaree, the Wa- 
teree, and Edisto, now listened to the strange voices of several 
nations, who, in the old world, had scarcely known each other 
except as foes. These, for a while, mingled harmoniously with 
the natives ; — the French Huguenot and the German Palatine, 
smoked their pipes in amity with the Westo and the Serattee ; 
and the tastes and habits of the Seine and the Rhine, became 
familiar to the wondering eyes of the fearless warriors along the 
Congaree. It was not long before a French violinist had opened 
a school for dancing, among the red men on the Santee river. 

55. What brought the English dissenters to Carolina? 56. What the cavaliers? 
57. What other countries contributed to the increase of the colony ? 58. How did 
they live together ? 59. What first did the French settlers attempt to teach to the red 
men of Santee riv*!r? 



64 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE COLONY UNDER THE GOVERNORS, TEAMAN AND WEST, 

1670-1682. 

The settlers of Carolina, thus accumulated from so many 
and, sometimes, conflicting European nations, entered upon 
their new enterprise with industry and spirit. They seem to 
have been of a singularly elastic and cheerful temper of mind. 
At all events, we may assume, for their several parties, a lead 
ership, distinguished by character, courage, and a direct, manly, 
good sense, and conservative temper. They could never else 
have withstood and triumphed over the oppressive influences 
of the climate, and the constant strifes of near and numerous 
savages. Though comparatively strong in numbers, by the 
frequent accession of emigrants, as already shown, they were yet 
feeble in many of those elements of national strength, in which 
the best securities of a people are to be found. A common 
necessity had brought them together ; but, when the pressure 
of external dangers was withdrawn, it was not found so easy 
for them to harmonize. They were then apt to fall apart ; to 
revive old dislikes — the result of their several European pre- 
judices — and, if they did not join in actual hostility, to pursue 
dilFering objects and interests, which had all the effect of open 
strife upon the welfare of a small colony. 

Many of them were dependants upon the bounty of others ; 
most of them were poor; and, all of them, were so placed — 
an isolated community, in a savage land — as to need, for a 
time, at least, the continual and fostering providence of foreign 
patronage. This necessity, of itself, led to new weaknesses 
and much humiliation, from which they were only relieved by 

1. What is said of the settlers of Carolina ? 2. How long did they continue to min- 
gle and work, together harmoniously ? 8. What was their condition ? 



THE COLONY UNDER YEAMAN AND WEST. 55 

the withdrawal of the reluctant bounty, upon which they had 
been too willing to depend. This unmanly disposition received 
its first and becoming rebuke from the proprietors, in a letter, 
which announced to them their resolution to bestow no more 
" stock and charges upon the idle." — " We will not," were the 
words of this epistle, " continue to feed and clothe you without 
expectation or demand of any return." 

Thus, fortunately, forced upon their own resources, the Caro- 
linians received that first lesson of independence which, per- 
haps, has done much toward giving them that high rank among 
their countrymen of the sister states, which can not be denied 
them. A sense of mortified pride co-operated with their neces- 
sities to make them address themselves, w'ith earnestness, to 
their labors. They proceeded to fell the forests, and clear 
their fields, with a hearty resolution, which, while it amply 
atoned for past remissness, as sufiicientl}'- guarantied the reali- 
zation of every future good. 

New settlers, in all countries, are subjected to many hard- 
ships ; but those of Carolina seem to have equalled, if they did 
not surpass, everything of the kind to which men, in any age, 
have ever been subjected. To subdue the forest to the neces- 
sities of civilized man ; to build habitations, and clear the 
ground for raising provisions, while it is always the first, would 
seem, also, to be the sufficient employment of the emigrant. 
In a low, flat country, and under a climate so sultry as that of 
Carolina, the burden of such labors must have been greatly 
increased. The Europeans soon sank under the fatigue of 
laboring in the open air, in the low latitudes, and those diseases 
which are peculiar to level countries, overflowed with water, 
and subject to the action of a constant, burning sun, soon made 
their appearance among them, to diminish their strength, en- 
feeble their spirits, and lessen their numbers. To enhance the 
evils of such a condition, they were surrounded by Indian ene- 
mies, who were eminently irritable and warlike, and who daily be- 
came more jealous of the encroachments of their white neighbors. 

4. "What was the language of the lord-proprietors? 5. What was the consequeneo 
of this language? 6. What were tlieir hardships? T. What their dangers from tho 
Oiimate? 8. From (he rod men V \ 



66 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

Carolina is said to have been oceuj)ied, at its first settlement, 
by no less than twenty-eight Indian nations. Perhaps we 
should speak more justly to describe the larger number of these 
as mere tribes ; the offshoots of the several nations of Musco- 
ghees, Catawbas, Cherokees, Chickasaws, and Choctaws. Their 
settlements extended from the ocean to the mountains. The 
Westos, Stonos, Coosaws, and Sewees, occupied the country 
between Charleston and the Edisto river. They were con- 
quered by the Savannahs, and expelled from the country. 
The Yemassees and Huspahs held the territory in the neigh- 
borhood of Port Royal. The Savannahs, Serannas, Cusso- 
bos, and Euchees, occupied the middle country, along the 
Isundiga, or Savannah river. The Apalachians dwelt at the 
head- waters of the Savannah and Altamaha, and gave their 
name to the mountains of Apalachia, and the bay of Apalachi- 
cola. The Muscoghees, or Creeks, occupied the south side of 
Savannah and Broad rivers — the latter, being, at that time, 
called the Cherokee — and, by this river, they were . divided 
from the Cherokees, a formidable nation, which dwelt upon 
the territory now included in the districts of Pickens, Ander- 
son, and Greenville. The Congarees, Santees, Waterees, 
Saludahs, Catawbas, Pedees, and Winyahs, lived along the 
rivers which bear their names. The Chickasaws and Choc- 
taws dwelt, or roved, westward from the borders of Carolina, 
to the banks of the Mississippi. 

As already said, we should speak more correctly to describe 
the greater number of these nations, as merely tribal, and some 
of them as rather wandering over, than dwelling permanently 
within, the territory. They belonged to a few mighty families 
which occupied the vast and measureless interior. They were 
tributaries of one or other of the several nations of Musco- 
ghees, Cherokees, Catawbas, Choctaws, and Chickasaws, 

9. By what nations, or tribes, of red men was the country inhabited ? 10. What 
were their several territories? 11. What are the characteristics of the red men? 
12. What of the Westos, Stonos, Coosaws, and Sewees ? 13. What became of them ? 
14. What territory did the Yemassees inliabit? 15. What the Huspahs? 16. What 
tribes skirted the Savannah river? 17. AVhere dwelt the Apalachians ? 18. Where 
the Muscoghees ? 19. What river separated their territory from the Cherokees ? 
20. What districts have been made from Cherokee territory ? 



THE COLONY UNDER YEAMANS AND WEST. 57 

among which the territory of the Carohnas was divided, and, 
perhaps, frequentl}'^ disputed. These Indians, united, could 
probably bring fifty thousand men into the field. The Musco- 
ghees and Catawbas were the most warlike races vjitkin Caro- 
lina ; the Cherokees were as numerous as either, and, perhaps, 
more civihzed, but not esteemed so brave. The Choctaws and 
Chickasaws seem to have been less stationary than these tribes, 
and, most probably, resembled those roving bands of the west, 
who drew their stakes and changed their habitations with the 
progress of the seasons. 

To the infant colony of Carolina, these nations, or the tribu- 
tary tribes which owned their sway, suggested constant alarm 
and danger. The Westo and Stono tribes, as they were most 
contiguous, seem to have been the most troublesome. Their 
assaults were doubly dangerous and annoying, as it was found 
so difficult to provide against them. The superiority of the 
musket over the bow and arrow, in a* dense and primitive 
forest, was very small. Concealed in the thicket, of which he 
has almost grown a part and is a native, the Indian launches 
his shaft ere the European has dreamed of the presence of an 
enemy. Its leaves hide him from the aim, and its mighty 
trees effectually shield him from the bullet which the angry 
stranger sends in reply. He ranges the woods in safety, while 
the invader sleeps ; and the swamps, in the atmosphere of 
which European life stagnates and perishes, yield a congenial 
element to him. 

Thus circumstanced, in connection with their Indian neigh- 
bors, the Carolinians were compelled to stand in a continual 
posture of defence. While one party slept, an equal number 
watched. He who felled the tree of the forest, was protected 
by another, who stood ready with his musket in the shade ; 
and so persevering were his stealthy enemies, that the settler 
dared not discard his weapon, even while gathering the oyster 

21. Give the places of abode of Congarees, Waterees, Santees, Saludas, Catawbas, 
Pedees, and Winyahs. 22. Of the Chickasaws and Choctaws. 23. Which of these 
were the most powerful ? 24. What the number of their warriors ? 25. Whicli na- 
tion was most warlike V 26. Which were most wandering ? 27. Which most trou])l8- 
eome ? 28. What of the difference of warfare between white and red men ? 29. What 
of the toils and perils of the whites 1 



58 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

on the shores of the sea. From the woods he was almost 
wholly exiled, by reason of the svvarms of foes which infested 
them ; and, but for the fish from the rivers, the colonists must 
have perished of famine. Their scanty crops were raised, not 
only by the sweat of their brows, but at the peril of their lives ; 
and, when raised, were exposed to the plundering assaults of 
the foe. A single night, frequently, lost to the farmer the 
dearh^ bought products of a year of toil. 

It is no easy matter to describe the dreadful extremities to 
which the Carolinians were, at last, reduced by their close 
nejo-hborhood with the hostile red men. A civil disturbance 
was the consequence, which threatened the ruin of the colony. 
Kobbed of the .slender stock of grain, which their fields had 
produced, and failing to receive supplies from Europe, they 
were ready for any measure to which the phrensy of despair 
might prompt them. 

Where a people are discontented, there will not be long 
wanting some unruly spirit to take advantage of their suffer- 
ings, and stimulate their sedition ; and one Florence O'Sulli- 
van, to whom the island, at the entrance of the harbor, which 
now bears his name, had been intrusted for defence, deserting 
his post, joined the discontents of the town ; and the popular 
fury might have expended itself in violence and bloodshed, but for 
the prudence and firmness of Sir John Yeamans, the governor. 

O'Sullivan was arrested on charges of sedition, and the peo- 
ple, for the time, were quieted, while vessels were despatched, 
for supplies, to Barbadoes and Virginia. A timely arrival 
from England, bringing provisions and a number of new set- 
tlers, revived the spirits of the people, and cheered them to 
renewed efforts. Yeamans, sensible of their hardships, readily 
forgave their commotions ; but Culpepper, the surveyor-gene- 
ral, and a member of the common house of assembly, who 
had stimulated their excesses — a man afterward prominent in 
an alleo-ed insurrection in North Carolina — was sent to Eng- 
land to be tried for treasonable conspiracies against the settle- 
ment. Culpepper was saved by the testimony of Shaftesbury, 

30, What of Florenco O'Sullivan ? 81. Wliat of Ciilpopper? 



THE COLONY UNDER YEAMANS AND WEST. 59 

who did not scruple at a falsehood, for the safety of one, who, 
according to some of the historians, was a patriot, resisting an 
unjust and unwise usurpation, and who, at worst, simply antici- 
pated the revolutionary spirit of 1776. 

While these events were in progress, a new enemy started 
up, to add to the many dangers and annoyances of the Caroli- 
nians. The Spaniards, at St. Augustine, had long regarded 
the settlement of the English at Ashley river, as an encroach- 
ment upon the dominions of their monarch. Perhaps, they 
remembered the ancient conflicts between Ribault, Laudon- 
iiiere, and Melendez, for supremacy, in the same neighborhood ; 
and, as if the massacres, which they had caused and suffered, 
had confirmed the right to the soil, which they founded upon 
the discoveries of De Leon and De Soto, they watched the 
colony of the English with a keen- disquiet, proportioned to 
their hostility. 

Having obtained a knowledge of the miserable condition of 
the Carolinians, and the discontents which prevailed among 
them, they advanced, with a well-armed party, to dislodge and 
destroy the settlers. They reached St. Helena, where they 
were joined by one Brian Fitzpatrick, a worthless traitor, who 
had deserted the colony in the moment of its greatest distress, 
and who now exposed its weaknesses to the invaders. The 
Spaniards continued to advance, under his guidance ; but, in 
the meantime, the vessel, bringing supplies of men and muni- 
tions of war, fortunately arrived in Ashley river. 

This re-enforcement enabled the governor to assume the 
offensive. He despatched, with his ship of war, fifty volun- 
teers, under colonel Godfrey, to meet the invaders ; but the 
Spaniards did not await his attack. They fled at his approach, 
evacuating St. Helena island, of which they had obtained full 
possession, and retreated, with all haste, to Augustine. This 
attempt of the Spaniards, though conducted with little spirit, 
and distinguished by no combat, was the prelude to a long suc- 

32. What of the Spaniards? 83. What feeling did they entertain for the English, 
at Ashley river ? 34. Upon what did they found their claims to the country ? 35. Did 
they assail the settlement, and where ? 86. Who betrayed the colony ? 87. What was 
the result of their invasion? 



60 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

cession of conflicts, between the two colonies, resulting in mu- 
tual invasion, and unprofitable and unnecessary loss of blood 
and treasure. 

To conciliate the Indian tribes, and escape from that harass- 
ing and constant warfare which they had waged upon the 
colony, from the beginning, was now the chief object of Gov- 
ernor Yeamans. But, one circumstance, at this time, con- 
tributed, more than anything beside, to the peace of the set- 
tlement. The Westos, who had always harbored the most 
unconquerable aversion to tlie whites, and who were doubly 
dangerous, from their near neighborhood, were suddenly in- 
vaded by the Serannas, a powerful tribe, living on the Isun- 
diga river. A war followed between them, which was waged 
with so fatal a fury, as to end in the almost complete annihila- 
tion of both. The Carolinians, without doubt, as a matter of 
policy, encouraged the hostile temper of the combatants ; at all 
events, they found security from its continuance,, and were 
finally rid of two fierce neighbors when it ended. 

In 1674, under the administration of Sir John Yeamans, the 
Fundamental Constitutions were formally proclaimed to the 
people. Hitherto, the colony had been living under a tempo- 
rary government, rather military than civil, which employed 
but few of the provisions of that model code, whether of Shafts- 
bury or Locke, which had been devised for it, from the begin- 
ning. But now, the population having, as it was thought, suf- 
ficiently increased and expanded, and the lord-proprietors 
earnestly desiring to put their favorite plan into execution, the 
more elaborate system was now made of force. The people 
were assembled, accordingly, and the Constitutions declared to 
them as so much law, and not submitted for adoption. Under 
their authority, the province w^as divided into four counties, called 
Berkeley, Colleton, Craven, and Carteret. But Colleton and 
Berkeley, alone, w^ere considered to be sufficiently populous to 
need or deserve representation, and ten members of assembly 
were chosen from each, 

38. What was the result of their invasion? "9. Wliat of the Westos and Serannas? 
40. When were the Fundamental Constitutions formally declared ? 41. How was tho 
province subdivided ? 



THE COLONY UNDER YEAMANS AND WEST. 61 

This duty done, Sir John abandoned tlie colony, and went to 
Barbadoes, where he died. His administration had its parti- 
sans and assaihmts, in nearly equal degree. By one side, his 
labors for the success of the settlement are spoken of as inde- 
fatigable. By another, he is described as unjust, and tyrannical. 

He was succeeded by Joseph West, as governor, and, under 
his rule, the freemen of the colony were called together, at 
Charlestown, for the purpose of making laws for their govern- 
ment, according to the Fundamental Constitutions. The upper 
and lower houses of assembly were formed, and, with the gov- 
ernor as its head, took the name of parliament. This was the 
first parliament in the colony that proposed acts, of which the 
proprietors approved, and which are on record in the colony. 

It might have been expected that this parliament, composed 
of men embarked in the same vessel, and having a common 
interest, would be particularly zealous to maintain harmony 
and a friendly understanding among themselves. They had 
the same interests to promote and the same enemies to fear. 
Unhappily, such was not the case. The most numerous party 
in the country, were dissenters, of various denominations, from 
the established church of England. Affecting, always, a supe- 
rior sanctity, these people have been seldom found the most 
docile and subordinate members of the community. A large 
share of self-esteem distinguished their intellectual organization, 
and occasioned constant discontents with the existing authori- 
ties, and a restless impatience of control. 

The cavaliers, who had also received grants in Carolina, 
were regarded by the proprietors, who were chiefly noblemen, 
w'th a more favoring eye. Though lively, impetuous, and 
given to excesses of various kinds, a taste for which had been 
engendered by the civil wars, in the time of the first Charles, 
and the Protectorate, they were yet regarded as men of loy- 
alty, honor, and fidelity. 

The puritans, who remembered them only as deadly enemies, 

42. "Where did Sir John Yeamans die ? 48. By whom was he succeeded ? 44. What 
is said of his administration? 45. What was the conduct of the parliament, under 
West ? 40. Wliat was tlie most numerous party in the colony ? 47. Wliat is said of 
the cavaliers ? 48. What of the puritans ? 



62 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

in England, were vexed to see them lifted into places of honor, 
in Carolina. The odious terms and ungracious epithets, of the 
old world, were soon revived in the new, among both parties ; 
and, but for the prudence of Governor West, who, in the busi- 
ness of legislation, studiously discouraged every discussion of 
religious subjects, the bitter fruits of such dislikes and differ- 
ences would have been renewed in a region, to the government 
of which the utmost tolerance had been decreed by the propri- 
etors, from the beginning of their enterprise. 

The differing manners and habits of the colonists, furnished 
another cause for the absence of harmony among them. The 
puritans were a sober, inflexible, morose people ; ho>tile to 
amusements, without carefully discriminating between them — 
rigid in form — resolute to make no concessions, and tenacious, 
to the last degree, of those leveling opinions, which were held 
in particular dislike by the cavaliers. They denounced the 
vices and debaucheries of the latter, censured their freedom of 
deportment, their ill-timed levities ; and, exasperated by their 
licentiousness, and unconcealed scorn of themselves, labored, 
with equal industry and malevolence, to keep them out of 
power, and abridge their influence and authority. 

The cavaliers were not less active in their hostility, nor less 
careful to display their dislike. They ridiculed the puritans 
with a wit as reckless as it was unsparing, and employed all 
their influence in exposing them to public derision and con- 
tempt. Their contentious dispositions, and leveling notions, 
were denounced as deserving of the abhorrence of all men of 
honor — as having served to produce, in England, that race of 
sly, deceitful, and hypocritical wretches, which had been the 
scourge of the nation. 

This war increased the animosity of both parties, daily ; and, 
though the governor endeavored to arrest its violence, and sub- 
due its virulence, the pernicious effects were soon perceptible, 
in the difficulty that arose in framing laws, distributing justice, 
and maintaining public tranquiUity. His council being com- 
posed entirely of cavaliers, was a check upon his own ability. 

49. Which party was most favorod by the proprietors? 50. Which predominated 
in government? 



THE COLONY UNDER YEAMANS AND WEST. 63 

In spite of his authority, the puritans were treated with neglect 
and injustice ; and, the colony, distracted with domestic evils, 
not only failed to make that progress in fortune M'hich its natu- 
ral advantages promised, but became ill-prepared to protect 
itself ao-ainst those enemies which threatened it from without. 
Briefly, all the struggles of parties in England were renewed 
in Carolina ; the one, tenacious of prerogative ; the other, rest- 
less and feverish, with vague desires for more liberty, and a 
more equable government. 

The Stonos, at this unfavorable juncture, appeared along the 
settlements, and, in detached bodies, assailed the plantations, 
from which they carried the grain as soon as it ripened. The 
savages, everywhere, have deemed it the less laborious policy 
to rob the civilized, than to encounter the labor and risk of 
planting for themselves. The stock of the Carolinians shared 
the fate of their grain crops, and the apprehensions of famine, 
from which they suffered in the time of Yeamans, were re- 
newed, under the government of West. 

That gentleman, however, employed a new branch of polic}'' 
in revenging and repairing the sufferings of his people. The 
planters were armed in defence of their possessions, and, in the 
war that ensued, which was waged, by the Stonos, with singu- 
lar hate and perseverance, it was found necessary to fix a price 
upon every Indian brought in as a captive. 

The savages, thus taken, were shipped to the "West Indies, 
and sold as slaves. This mode of getting rid of cruel and 
treacherous enemies, however justified by ancient practice, has, 
latterly, been deemed more barbarous than taking their lives. 

The planters, of that day, did not even see the necessity of 
vindicating themselves against such a charge, and their de- 
scendants seem to have grown up in the same faith. Without 
discussing the propriety of the policy which they pursued, it 
may be enough to say, that it was attended with the desired 
results. The Stonos were defeated, after a long and obstinate 
conflict. Their name, alone, remains to distinguish the site of 
their former habitations. 

5'\ What effect liad the distractions of party upon the prosperity of the colony? 
M. Wliat enemy appeared at tliis time? 52. Vv^hat policy was adopted in the war 
with the StHiios? 5;.;. What hceiiini; of the Stonos? 



64 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 



CHAPTER III. 

FROM 1682 TO 1696. 

A PARLIAMENT was held, in Charlestown, at the close of 
1 682, when laws were enacted for establishing a militia sys- 
tem ; for making high roads through the forest ; for repressing 
drunkenness and profanity ; and, for otherwise promoting a 
proper morality among the people. In the year following, Gov- 
ernor West was removed from office, and Joseph Morton, who 
had just before been created a landgrave of Carolina, succeeded 
to his place. 

West had displeased the proprietaries, by introducing the 
traffic in Indians — a traffic which, because of its profitable 
results, seemed likely to be perpetuated among the planters ; 
and by curbing the excesses of the cavaliers, who formed the 
proprietary party, in opposition to the less loyal, or more tur- 
bulent members of the puritan faction. 

With his removal, commenced a course of rapid changes in 
the government of the colony. Two parties had arisen, as far 
back as 1674, on the first creation of a parliament, the general 
direction of whose principles undoubtedly came from the social 
and religious bias which they had each received from their 
conflicting relations in England. One of these endeavored to 
maintain the prerogative and authority of the proprietaries ; 
the other contended for the rights and liberties of the people. 

The cavaliers, or court party, insisted upon implicit obedi- 
ence to the laws received from England ; the puritans con- 
tended, and with perfect justice, for the right to adapt their 
laws to the existinjT circumstances of their condition. 

In this state of tilings, no set of officers could maintain their 

1. When was a parliament held in Charlestown? 2. What laAvs were enacted? 
3. W'lio succeeded W^est as governor ? 4. WJiy was West removed ? 5. "What did 
the cavaliers and puritans severally contend for ? 



FROM lf)S2 TO U'.96, ' i^Cf 

places long. Neither party could be quite satisfied with the 
administration of affairs. In the short space of four years, 
from 1G82 to 1 686, there were no less than five governors: 
Morton succeeding West ; West again displacing Morton ; 
and being followed, in turn, by Sir Richard Kyrle, an Irish- 
man, by Robert Quarry, and James Colleton. 

Morton assembled a parliament, wliich established a variety 
of regulations, some of which were displeasing to the proprie- 
taries. It enacted a law for raising the value of foreign coins, 
by which the currency of Carolina was first regulated ; and 
suspended all prosecutions for foreign debts ; a measure which 
was negatived by the proprietaries, whose own interests might 
have suffered from such an enactment, and which they declared 
contrary to the king's honor, as obstructing the proper course 
of justice. 

Another cause of dispute, between the proprietors and the 
people, arose from the manner in which the parliament was 
constituted. The province, at this time, was divided between 
the three counties of Berkeley, Craven, and Colleton. Berke- 
ley filled the space around the capital ; Craven (including the 
district lately called Clarendon), lay to the northward; and 
Colleton contained Port Royal, and the islands in its vicinity, 
to the distance of thirty miles. 

Of the twenty members, of whom the parliament was to be 
composed, the proprietaries desired that ten should be elected 
by each of the counties of Berkeley and Colleton. Craven 
was still deemed too inconsiderable to merit any representation. 

Berkeley, which contained the metropolis, was the only 
county which, as yet, possessed a county court ; and, the pro- 
vincial government having appointed the election to be held at 
Charlestown, the inhabitants, by reason of their greater num- 
bers, succeeded in excluding Colleton from all representation, 
and in returning the whole twenty members. 

6. How many governors filled the office in the space of four years ? 7. "What laws 
were passed by the new parliament ? 8. Did these laws, or any of them, displease 
the proprietaries ? 9. How was the province divided ? 10. Describe these localities, 
severally. 11. Of how many representatives was the parliament ? 12. From what 
counties chosen ? 13. Why none from Craven ? 14. Which contained the metropo- 
lis ? 15. What was the result of holdinj? the election in Charlestown ? 



Q(j ' HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

This enraged the proprietors, who dissolved the jDarliament, 
but without effecting any present remedy against the injustice 
of numbers. Governor Morton, harassed by the strifes among 
the people, resigned his office. His authority was conferred 
on West, whose policy, favoring the tratffc in Indians, rendered 
him a very popular person among the colonists. But he was 
not sufi^ered to continue long in office. Sir Richard Kyrle, was 
then intrusted with the government, by the proprietaries ; but 
he died soon after his arrival in the province. 

West, thereupon, was again chosen, but was soon superseded 
by Colonel Quarry, who kept the capricious station but a year. 
He was found, or suspected, to have afforded some countenance 
to piracy ; was removed, in consequence, and the landgrave 
Morton once more reinstated in the government. 

In the offence imputed to Quarry, the community had its 
share. Indeed, it was one of the excesses of the time ; a seem- 
ing sanction for which was to be found in particular circum- 
stances. Pirates were licensed by Great Britain, to cruise 
against the Spanish fleets, in the American waters ; there 
being, in the phrase of the day, " no peace beyond the line." 
The king of England had even conferred the honors- of knight- 
hood upon one of the worst villains of the class. 

The enormities, committed by the Spaniards, in all quarters 
of the new world, and upon all people, Christian and savage, 
seemed, in the eyes of other nations, to justify a corresponding 
treatment of themselves in turn. 

But the pirates did not confine themselves to Spanish vessels ; 
else, it is probable, that they might still have pursued their 
excesses with impunity, in the waters of Carolina. There, 
the ports were freely opened to them, provisions supplied, 
and they were received as the favored guests of the j^lant- 
ers. The hostility entertained by these reckless rovers against 
the Spaniards, the mortal foes of the Carolinians, was, perhaps, 
the true reason of the countenance which they found among 

IG. What effect had this on the proprietoi's ? 17. Why did Governor Morton re- 
sign? 18. Who succeeded to Morton? 19. Who succeeded West? 20. AVho suc- 
ceeded Kyrle? 21. Who succeeded Quarry? 22. What was the offence imputed to 
Quarry ? 23. Why were pirates licensed by England ? 24. What seemed to justify 
this practice? 25. Why were the pirates tolerated in Carolina ? 



FROM 1682 TO 1096. / 67 

the latter. It suggests the only reaieon which may serve, in 
some degree, to justify the colonists for the favor which they 
showed them. The governor, the proprietary deputies, and 
the principal inhabitants, are said to have equally stained them- 
selves with this unbecoming intercourse; and the obloquy, 
which they thus incurred, was only obliterated in the manl}^ 
warfare, in which they subsequently drove them from their 
waters. Their feebleness may have made them sanction the 
presence of those whom they did not dare to offend ; and the 
fact, that the pirates chiefly warred against their inveterate ene- 
mies, the Spaniards, constituted them, in one respect, very use- 
ful, if not worthy allies, w^hom it was their policy to encourage. 

It is certain, in support of this view of the subject, that the 
Spaniards themselves, regarded, in this light, the countenance 
which the Carolinians showed the pirates. They beheld the 
enemies who had infested their shores, and destroyed their 
shipping, sheltered and received as friends in Ashley river ; 
and, if no such policy influenced the Carolinians, they were, at 
least, required to atone, as allies, for the excesses of those 
w^liom they received with the kindness due to allies only. 

Other circumstances contributed to this conviction, and 
strengthened the hostility of the people of St. Augustine. 
They had always beheld the settlements of the English with 
jealousy, and the establishment of a new colony, under Lord 
Cardross, a Scotch nobleman, at Port Royal, served to renew 
the ancient grudge, and furnished a new provocation to hostil- 
ity. They invaded the southern frontiers of the colony, and 
descended, suddenly, upon the Scotch, at Port Royal, whom 
they expelled. Laying the settlements waste as they went, 
they as suddenly retired, ere men could be mustered to en- 
counter them, or resent the inroad. 

The spirit of the Carolinians, whom continued wars had 
made a martial people, was at once aroused by this aggression, 
and they resolved, with one mind, to carry their arms into the 
enemy's territory. An expedition was determined upon, and 
preparations begun for an invasion of Florida. But the pro- 

26. What was the effect upon the Spaniards? 2T. "What did they achieve ? 2S. W^Irat 
was the effect of Spnnisli invasion npon t!ie Carolinians? 



68 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

prietaries hastened to arrest this purpose. They succeeded, 
for the time ; but the angry feelings, which were brought into 
activity, on this occasion, were never suffered entirely to sleep ; 
and they found their utterance but a few seasons after this 
event, when, under the government of a man fond of warlike 
enterprises, the colonists prepared to " feed fat the ancient 
grudge," which they bore against their hereditary foes. 

James Colleton, a landgrave of Carolina, and brother of one 
of the lord-proprietors, succeeded to Morton. For a time, his 
administration gave universal satisfaction ; but, an endeavor to 
carry out his instructions, renewed the old conflicts between 
the people and their lords, in all their original virulence and 
vigor. The progress of discontent in the colony soon assumed 
a mutinous aspect, and the first leading measure of the new 
governor resulted in the utter forfeiture of his power. He 
endeavored to make the people pay up their quit-rents, which 
had been suffered to accumulate, without liquidation, for sev- 
eral years. The amount was trifling ; but other feelings than 
those of interest mingled in with the consideration of the sub- 
ject. It was the display of authority, at a time when that 
authority was already under censure, for trespasses upon the 
public liberties ; and, taught in the severe school of self-succor 
and self-providence, from the beginning, the great body of the 
Carolinians were disposed to resistance. This spirit became 
more turbulent with every show of rigor, on the part of the 
indiscreet landgrave ; riots and commotions succeeded ; the 
parliament was assembled, and, in 1690, in consequence of 
Colleton's proclamation of martial law, and the dispersion of 
his mutinous house of commons, the contest was brought to an 
issue. This resulted in the partial triumph of the peoj)le, the 
formal deposition of the governor, and his solemn banishment 
beyond the limits of the province. 

The government 'was then usurped by one Seth Sothel, a 
factious person, who had been driven from the Albemarle 
(N. C.) settlement. Availing himself of the general hostility 

29. "Who arrested them in their plans of retaliation? 80. "Who next became gov- 
ernor of Carolina? 31. How did Colleton displease the people? 82. WHiat was the 
result of his quarrel with the people ? 33. "VYlien was Colleton expelled the country? 
84. Who usurped the government ? 



FKOINI 1682 TO 1696. 69 

to Colleton, he found but little difficulty in securing the favor 
of the Carolinians, in the first moments of their anger. They 
used him, for a season, as a screen between themselves and 
government ; and, having sucked the juice from the orange, 
readily threw away the skin. He claimed the government in 
the double right of a proprietor himself, and a champion of the 
popular liberties. But his pretences were soon set aside, and 
the excessive tyranny of his mis-rule effectually rebuked and 
punished the folly of those who so readily yielded to his argu- 
ments. He is said to have trampled under foot every restraint 
of equity and the laws ; to have been as much without modera- 
tion as justice ; and to have ruled the colonists with a rod of 
iron, far more heavy than that of Colleton. His whole course 
was one of rapine, and his coffers were filled by every species 
of plunder and exaction. The fair traders, from Barbadoes 
and Bermuda, were seized, by his orders, under pretended 
charges of piracy, and either incurred a forfeiture of their 
goods, or were compelled to purchase their ransom from prison 
by enormous fines. Felons bought themselves free from jus- 
tice by heavy bribes, and the property of individuals was 
seized and confiscated on the most frivolous pretences. For- 
tunately, the career of Sothel *\^as short. Proprietaries and 
people, alike, joined in his expulsion ; and, pursued by the 
laws which he had offended, and the hate which he had pro- 
voked, he soon followed Colleton into banishment. 

Philip Ludwell was now sent out by the proprietaries, to fill 
the vacated chair of the governor. He was accompanied by 
Sir Nathaniel Johnson, who had been governor of the leeward 
islands, and who, having determined to retire to Carolina, was 
appointed a cassique of the province, and a member of council. 

Ludwell, who was a man of sense and humanity, commenced 
his administration in a manner that appeared to promise well 
for its continuance ; but this promising appearance was of short 
duration. There was a continual v»'arfare ffoinsc on between 
the supposed interests of the proprietors and people ; and the 

85. With what policy did the Carolinians use Sothel ? 36. What was the character 
of his rule V 37. What became of Sothel ? 38. AVho succeeded as governor ? 39. Who 
came with him from the ley^vard islands ? 



70 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

measures of any governor, or council, supposed to be favorably 
inclined to the one, were sure to give offence to, and excite the 
jealous opposition of, the other party. Ludwell had been in- 
structed, by the proprietaries, to admit the French Huguenots, 
settled in Craven county, to the same political privileges with 
the English colonists. 

Unhappily, these elder colonists were far from regarding 
their new associates with good will or friendly feeling. The 
number of the strangers, and the wealth which was possessed 
by some among them, excited their personal jealousies, and 
these soon awakened all the ancient antipathies of the nation. 
When Ludwell proposed to admit the refugees to a participation 
in the privileges of the other planters, the English refused to 
acquiesce. They insisted that it was contrary to the laws of 
England ; that no power but that of the British parliament 
could dispense with the legal disability of aliens to purchase 
lands within the empire, incorporate them into the British com- 
munity, or make them partakers of the rights c^ native-born 
Englishmen. The}^ even maintained that the marriages of the 
refugees, performed by their own clergymen, were unlawful, as 
not being celebrated by men who had obtained Episcopal ordin- 
ation. For themselves, they declared a determination not to 
sit in the same assembly with the hereditary rivals of their na- 
tion ; or of receiving laws from those who were the pupils of a 
system of slavery and arbitrary government. The unfortunate 
refugees, alarmed at these resolutions, turned to the proprieta- 
ries to confirm their original assurances. 

Ludwell was compelled to suspend the contemplated measure 
until he could hear from Europe ; and, in the meantime, Craven 
county, in which the French refugees lived, was not allowed a 
single representative in the provincial parliament. 

To the application of these unfortunate and truly worthy ex- 
iles, from whom we derive many of the first families of our 
state, and some of the first names of our republic, the proprie- 
taries returned an indecisive but a friendly answer. They 

40. "What were Ludwell's instructions? 41. What prevented him from carrying out 
these instructions ? 42. W^hat was the determination of the English colonists ? 43. 
What was the effect upon the French refugees ? 44. How did Ludwell act? 45. In 
what county chiefly had the French refugees settled ? 



FROM 1682 TO 1696. 71 

continued in a condition of the most painful solicitude, and an 
entire privation of their rights for several years after, when 
their patient and humane behavior prevailed equally over the 
political and personal antipathies of the English. Their former 
adversaries, won over by their praisewoithy gentleness of de- 
meanor, advocated the pretensions they had hitherto opposed; 
and a law of naturalization was at length passed in favor of the 
aliens. 

But the dispute that had arisen in the province on this sub- 
ject was productive of excessive irritation against Ludwell, 
which was farther increased by his decisive proceedings against 
the pirates. The arrival of a crew of these wretches in 
Charlestown, where, relying on ancient privileges, they still 
hoped to be secure, afforded him an opportunity to endeavor, 
by the infliction of a tardy justice, to relieve the colony of some 
of the obloquy which rested upon its name. He apprehended 
the marauders, and brought them to trial for their crimes. 

The people exclaimed against this proceeding, and interested 
themselves so effectually, that the criminals were not only ac- 
quitted, but the government was even compelled to grant them 
an indemnity. It was not till twenty years had elapsed, and a 
hecatomb of victims had been offered up to the laws which they 
had offended, that Carolina was at length fairly freed from these 
wretches, and the stain of their communion washed from her 
hands and garments. Farther conflicts followed between the 
people and their rulers, in which Ludwell seemed to yield to the 
wishes of the former. This awakened the anxiety of the pro- 
prietaries, who at length deprived him of his office, and con- 
ferred it, with the dignity of landgrave, upon Thomas Smith. 

The administration of Smith, if more peaceable, was not 
more successful than that of his predecessor. A popular man 
— wealthy — himself a planter, and long a resident among the 
people, he commenced his government with the most favorable 
auspices ; but the province still remained in a confused and 
turbulent condition. Discontent prevailed in the land ; and, in 

46. What was their conduct ? 47. What law was passed in their favor ? 48. What 
was Ludwell's treatment of the pirates? 49. Who succeeded Ludwell as governor? 
50. Who was Landgrave Smith ? 



72 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

utter despair at last, he wrote to the proprietors, praying to be 
released from a charge which brought him nothing but annoy- 
ance, and in which he could hope to do no good. He declared, 
in his letter, that he despaired ever to unite the people in affec- 
tion and interest ; and that, weary of the perpetual warfare 
among them, he, and many others, were resolved upon leaving 
the province, unless they sent out one of their own number, 
with full power to redress grievances and amend the laws. 
Nothing else, it was his conviction, would bring the settlers to 
a condition of tranquillity. 

The proprietors adopted the suggestion of Smith, and he was 
succeeded by John Archdale, a Quaker, and one of their num- 
ber. The Fundamental Constitutions were surrendered to the 
dislike of the people, and were formally abolished after an ex- 
periment of twenty-three years had shown them to be utterly 
impracticable in the condition of the colony. The government 
of the people was now severed from the powers conferred by 
the charter. Archdale entered upon his work, therefore, with 
a judgment entirely untrammelled. His administration seems 
to have been a wise one. It was not distinguished by any inci- 
dent of importance ; it was peaceable, and received, as it mer- 
ited, at its termination, the thanks of the colony, for the first 
time given to any of its governors. He improved the militia 
system, opened friendly communications with the Indians and 
Spaniards, discouraged the inhumanities of the former so effect- 
ually, as to induce them utterly to renounce the inhuman prac- 
tice of plundering shipwrecked vessels and murdering their 
crews ; and combined, with singular felicity, the firm requisites 
of the governor, with the gentle and simple benevolence of the 
Quaker. " Yet," says the historian Grahame, "how inferior 
the worldly renown of Archdale, the instrument of so much 
good, to the more cherished fame of his less efficient and far 
less disinterested contemporary and fellow secretary, William 
Penn !" 

51. "What did he advise the proprietors, and wliat was his opinion of the colony? 
52. Who succeeded Smitli ? 53. What was the fate of tlie fundamental constitutions ? 
54. What was the character of Archdale's administration V 54. What is said of Arch- 
dale? 



FROM 1682 TO 1696. 73 

It may be added that, for the first time during his govern- 
ment, a regular administration of the ordinances of religion 
was introduced among the English of the colony. The Hugue- 
nots brought with them their holy men ; and hence, perhaps, 
the more gentle habits, and the wise forbearance, which distin- 
guished their conduct toward their opponents, in the long strifes 
and bitter enmities which encountered their claims to an equal 
participation of the few pleasant fruits of exile. 

56. What was done for religion during hia administration ? 57. What is said of the 
religious habits of the Huguenots ? 



74 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 



CHAPTER IV. 



K-r' 



BLAKE S AND JOHNSON S ADMINISTRATIONS, 1696-1719. 

Among other extraordinary privileges, the power had been 
granted to Archdale of appointing his successor in office. He 
chose Joseph Blake, a nephew of the celebrated British admi- 
ral, a man of great prudence and popularity. Blake governed 
the colony wisely and happily. Shortly after his elevation to 
office, a new code of Fundamental Constitutions was transmitted 
to Carolina from the proprietors ; but this code commanded far 
less consideration than the first. It does not seem to have 
been even recognised by the provincial assembly. 

Blake's administration, wh.ich lasted from 1696 to his death, 
in 1700, was a season of political calm. Yet it was only in 
consequence of a succession of calamities that the strifes of party 
were suspended. The pirates, whom a more severe application 
of the laws had driven from their old haunts in Carolina, now, 
1696, turned their arms against the settlement and harassed its 
commerce. Several ships, belonging to Charlestown, were 
taken by them as they left the port, the crews sent on shore, 
and the vessels kept as prizes. 

During the autumn of the same year, a dreadful hurricane 
inundated the town and threatened its destruction. The swollen 
sea was driven in upon the shores with such impetuosity, that 
several persons were overtaken by the waves and drowned. 
Much property and many lives were swallowed up by the ocean. 
This inundation was followed by a fire, which nearly reduced 
the town to ashes. The small-pox succeeded this last disaster, 

1. What extraordinary privilege had been granted to Archdale ? 2. AVhom did he 
choose as governor ? 3. How did Blake govern the colony ? 4. How long did Blake'a 
administration last? 5. Wliat arrested the strife of party? 6. What of the pirates? 
7. What disaster happened to the colony in 1G96 ? 8. What followed the inundation ? 



ADMINISTRATIONS OF BLAKE AND JOHNSON. 75 

and spread death and desolation tlirough the colony. Pro- 
fessional ignorance proved no less fatal than the disease. 

Scarcely had the colonists begun to breathe from these evils, 
when a pestilence (so called, but no doubt yellow fever) broke 
out among them, and swept off, among numerous other victims, 
nearly all of the public officers and one-half of the legislature. 
Few families escaped a share in these calamities. Despair sat 
upon every countenance, and many among the survivors began 
to think of abandoning a colony which Providence seemed to 
distinguish by every sort of calamity. 

But evcH these afflictions did not quiet the turbulence of 
party. The Carolinians appear to have possessed a stubborn 
character and a restless impatience of authorit}^, which soon 
prompted a forgetfulness of sorrow, and of the causes of sor- 
row. In the political strifes of the colony, fire, flood, and pes- 
tilence were forgotten. The old conflicts between the people 
and the proprietors, on the subject of their respective rights, 
were revived with ail the ancient acrimony ; and the acquisitiou 
of Nicholas Trott, a lawyer and an able man, by the party of 
the former, contributed to their audacity in a degree correspond- 
ing to the addition which his intellect had given to their 
strength. 

It is not necessary that we should dwell upon the thousand 
little causes of provocation on the one hand or the other, which 
helped hourly to widen the breach between the parties. There 
was a native incoherency in the union of their fortunes — a 
mutual distrust, arising from a real or supposed difference of 
interests ; and the proprietary lords were soon taught a lesson, 
which was afterwards bestowed in like manner upon their 
monarch, that a people, removed three thousand miles from the 
presence of their rulers, can neither be protected by their care 
nor long enfeebled by their exactions. 

With the administration of Blake, who died in the year 1700, 
ended the short term of tranquillity which had originated with 
Archdale's government. The conflicts between the people and 

9. What the fire ? 10. Yv'Iiat was the effect of these calamities upon the colonists? 
11. What was the social evil among the colonists ? 12. What was the character of the 
colonists? 13 Who was Trott, and how did he affect the people? It. When did 
Blake die? 



76 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

their feudal lords waxed warmer daily, with the growth of pop- 
ulation, the developments of new interests, and the growing 
evidence of the inadequacy or invalidity of the foreign rule. 
Blake was succeeded by James Moore, a man of considerable 
talent and military enterprise, ambitious in a high degree, and 
an industrious seeker after popularity. He renewed the traific 
in Indians, begun in the time of Wes^and prepared to avenge 
upon the Spaniards at St. Augustine the frequent attacks which 
they had made upon the Carolinians. A rupture between Eng- 
land and Spain at this time made that a legitimate enterprise, 
which, a few years before, had been arrested by the proprietors 
as wholly unjustifiable. 

Moore checked the domestic quarrels of the Carolinians by 
the suggestion of this favorite expedition. Florida, he assured 
the people, would be an easy conquest. Her treasures of gold 
and silver were proposed as the rewards of valor. The wrongs 
which they had sustained from the Spaniards, were such as, 
when dwelt upon, were sufficient to warm them to the desire of 
vengeance. 

His eloquence was successful, as well in the assembly as 
among the people. His proposition was adopted by a great 
majority, and, in spite of the earnest opposition of a prudent 
few, who could not be deceived by the brilliant picture of suc- 
cess which had been held up to the imaginations of all. Two 
thousand pounds sterling were voted for the service ; six hun- 
dred provincial militia raised, out of a population of about six 
thousand persons ; an equal number of red men were incorpo- 
rated in arms with the whites ; schooners and merchant vessels 
were impressed as transports to carry the forces; and, in the 
month of September, 1702, Governor Moore sailed from Port 
Royal, the place appointed for the rendezvous, upon an enter- 
prise conceived in rashness and conducted without caution. 

The Spaniards were suffered to know all that was going on, 
and were preparing for defence with quite as much industry as 

15. How did his death affect the colony ? 16. Who succeeded Blake ? 17. What did 
he do as regards the red men and the Spaniards ? 18. What were the relations of 
England and Spain ? 19. W^hat lures did he hold out to the colonists for embark- 
ing in war? 20. How did he prepare for war? 21. Of what materials was his army 
composed ? 22. What was the character of his enterprise ? 



ADMINISTRATIONS OP BLAKE AND JOHNSON. 7^ 

their foes were preparing for attack. They had laid up foul 
months' provisions in the castle at St. Augustine, which was 
also strongly fortified, and had sent timely despatches to the 
West India islands for the succor of the Spanish fleets. 

Colonel Daniel, a Carolinian officer of great spirit, with a 
party of militia and Indians, made a descent upon the town of 
St. Augustine by land, while the commander-in-chief pursued 
his way by sea. Daniel's arrangements were made with equal 
secrecy and promptitude ; and he attacked, took the town, and 
plundered it, before the fleet of Moore appeared in sight. 

Upon Moore's arrival, the castle was closely invested, but 
without success. The cannon of the invaders made no impres- 
sion, and Colonel Daniel was despatched in a sloop to Jamaica 
for supplies of bombs and mortars of the necessary calibre. 

But, during his absence, the Spanish fleet appeared at the 
mouth of the harbor, and Governor Moore was compelled to 
raise the siege. Abandoning his ships, he retreated by land to 
Charlestown, having, according to the historians, fled with a 
rapidity as unbecoming as his rashness had been unwise and 
improvident. Daniel, on his return, to his great surprise found 
the siege raised, and narrowly escaped being made captive by 
the enemy. This fruitless expedition entailed a debt of six 
thousand pounds upon the colony. 

Notwithstanding the unhappy result of his first military en- 
terprise, Moore, fond of warlike exploits, soon resolved upon 
another. The Apalachian Indians, who had been stimulated 
by the Spaniards to hostilities against the colony, now com- 
manded his attention. Determined to chastise them, he raised 
a force of Carolinians and Indians, and penetrated into the very 
heart of their settlements. Wherever he went, he carried fire 
and sword, and struck a salutary terror into the souls of the 
savages. The Apalachian towns, between the Savannah and 
Altamaha, were laid in ashes, the country was ravaged, the peo- 
ple made captives, eight hundred of them slain, and the most hid- 

23. How did the Spaniards prepare for war ? 24. What was done by Colonel Dan- 
iels? 25. What by Moore? 26. Why Avas Governor Moore compelled to abandon 
the seige? 27. What was the rosult of the enterprise to the colony? 28. What was 
Moore's next military enterprise ? 29. What the result ? 



78 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

den settlements of the enemy laid open to the devastation 
which followed at his heels. 

This exhibition of power was productive of immense moral 
good to the Carolinians, in that quarter. It tauglit the savages 
a new lesson of respect for their arms, and prepared the way 
for the English settlements that were afterward planted along 
the rivers of the interior. The benefit was almost equally 
great to the commander of the expedition. His courage and 
conduct removed the discredit which his previous rashness had 
incurred, and he received the thanks of the proprietors and the 
people, for the important conquests which he had made. Apa- 
lachia, the country thus won by the arms of Carolina, became, 
afterward, successively, the colony and state of Georgia. 

Moore was succeeded, in the government, by Sir Nathaniel 
Johnson. This gentleman had been a soldier from his youth. 
He had, also, been a member of the House of Commons, in 
England. He was, therefore, esteemed to be well qualified for 
his trust. So, in some respects, he was ; but he was, at the 
same time, strongly opposed to the dissenting party, and a 
docile agent of Lord Granville, then the lord-palatine of Caro- 
lina, whose hostility to the same class of religionists was 
equally bitter and inveterate. 

Under the instructions of this nobleman, Governor Johnson, 
by a variety of measures, succeeded in establishing ecclesiasti- 
cal worship and government in the colony. He enacted two 
laws, by one of which the dissenters were deprived of all civil 
rights. By the other, he erected an arbitrary court of high 
commission, for the trial of ecclesiastical causes, and the pre- 
servation of religions uniformity in Carolina. 

These laws drove the dissenters to desperation. They sent 
a special messenger to London, and their petition for redress 
was laid before the House of Lords, who were filled with sur- 
prise and indignation at the high-handed despotism of the pro- 
prietors. The queen (Anne), by recommendation of the lords, 

30. How did it benefit the colony ? 31. How the governor ? 32. What use was af- 
terward made of the Apalachian territory? 33. Who succeeded Moore? 34. Who 
was Sir Nathaniel Johnson? 35. What were his measures ? -36. Wliat was the cJTect 
of them upon the dissenters? 87. What was the action of queen Anne upon his pro- 
ceed in <js ? 



ADMINISTRATIONS OF BLAKE AND JOHNSON. 79 

issued an order, declaring the laws, complained of, to be null 
and void ; and promised to institute a process of quo ivarranto 
against the provincial charter; but this promise was never ful- 
filled. 

An idea of the impolitic assumptions of the bigoted palatine 
may be formed, by a reference to the opinion which the House 
of Lords expressed, in their address to the queen. The law 
for enforcing conformity to the church of England, in the 
colony, they describe as "an encouragement to atheism and 
irreligion, destructive to trade, and tending to the ruin and 
depopulation of the province." 

It was in the year 1706, that the intolerant policy of Lord 
Granville received this check ; and, from that period, the dis- 
senters were permitted to enjoy, not, indeed, the equality which 
they had been encouraged to expect, but simple toleration. 

In the year following, an act of assembly was passed in 
South Carolina, for establishing religious worship, according 
to the forms of the church of England. The province was 
divided into ten parishes, and provision made for building a 
church ineach, and for the endowment of its minister. Before 
this period, neither the proprietors nor the people seem to have 
done much, if anything, worthy of notice, in behalf either of 
education or religion among themselves. The lords -proprietors 
had given little heed to a subject which constituted one of the 
pious pretexts in the application for their liberal charter. On 
behalf of the Indians, whose moral culture had, also, been one 
of the avowed purposes of their benevolence, in the establish- 
ment of the colony, at first, nothing was attempted. For bread 
they had received a stone. The only European instructions 
that the savages received, were communicated by a French 
dancing master, who acquired a large estate by teaching them 
to dance, and play on the flute or fiddle. 

But, just then, the minds of the Carolinians were somcAvhat 

38. What opinion did the House of Lords express touching these proceedings? 
39. What act, In respect to religion, was passed in 170T? 40. How was the province 
divided ? 41. What had the lords-proprietors done for education and religion among 
the people ? 42. "What for the education and religion of the red men ? 43. What was 
the character of the instructions which they received V 44. What, at this time, were 
the relations of England. France, and Spain ? 



80 HISTOKY OP SOUTH CAROLINA. 

diverted from their domestic, by the approach of foreign, trou- 
bles. A war, at this time, waging between the great E-uropean 
powers of England, France, and Spain, necessarily involved 
the fortunes and interests of their separate colonies. A plan 
was set on foot, by the joint forces of France and Spain, tv^ 
invade Charlestown, and the Carolinians were summoned to 
their arms. Governor Johnson was a military man, and the 
several expeditions of a warlike character, in which the Caro- 
linians had been engaged, had infused into them a very martial 
spirit. Fortifications were pushed forward with rapidity, am- 
munition procured, provisions stored ; and industry, stimulated 
by zeal and valor, soon put the settlements, at Ashley river, in 
a tolerable state of defence. Fort Johnson was erected on 
James' island, to meet this exigency ; redoubts raised at White 
Point, now the site of a charming promenade — the battery — 
no less beautiful than appropriately named ; and, having com- 
pleted their preparations, the Carolinians calmly awaited the 
appearance of the foe. 

The invasion took place in August, 170G, and while the 
yellow fever was raging in Charlestown, and when its prin- 
cipal inhabitants had left the place for their plantations. A 
French fleet, under Monsieur Le Feboure, having procured 
succors from Cuba and St. Augustine, appeared before the 
harbor. Five separate smokes, which were raised by a corps 
of observation, at Sullivan's island, announced the number of 
vessels in the invading armament. 

The inhabitants of the town were at once put under arms, 
by William Rhett, the colonel in command. Despatches were 
sent to the captains of militia, in the country, and Governor 
Johnson, arriving from his plantation, proclaimed martial law 
at the head of the militia. 

His presence, as a military man, of known capacity and 
valor, inspired the citizens with confidence. His measures 
were calculated to confirm it. He summoned the friendly 
Indians, stationed his troops judiciously, gave his commands 

45. How did these relations threaten the colony ? 46. What was the conduct of Gov- 
ernor Johnson ? 47. W^hat was done for defence against invasion V 4S. What fleet 
appeared, and who commauded it V 49. Who took command in Charlestown? 
50. What did the governor ? 



ADMINISTRATIONS OF BLAKE AND JOHNSON. 81 

with calmness and resolve, and, as the troops came in from the 
country, assigned them their places and duties with the com- 
posure of one who had long before adjusted his plan of resistance. 

The neighboring troops came to the defence of the city, in 
numbers, and with alacrity. That same evening, a troop of 
horse, under Captain George Logan, and two companies of 
foot, commanded by Major Broughton, breached the capital.. 
The next morning, a companj^ from James' island, under Captain 
Drake, another from Wando, under Captain Fenwicke, and five 
more, commanded by Captains Davis, Cantey, Lynch, Hearne, 
Longbois, and Seabrook, from other parts of the province, 
made their appearance in the city, and, with the resident mili- 
tia, comprised, at that time, the chief military force of Carolina. 
At this period, the whole population of the colony was esti- 
mated at about nine thousand souls ; of whom five thousand 
were negro and Indian slaves. The militia was about nine 
hundred. Some great guns were put on board such ships as 
happened to be in the harbor, and the sailors were thus em- 
ployed, in their own way, to assist in the defence of the city. 
The command of this little fleet was given to Colonel William 
Rhett, a man of resolution and address. 

Meanwhile, the enemy having passed the bar, came to an- 
chor a little above Sullivan's island, and sent up a flag to the 
governor, demanding his surrender. The messenger was re- 
ceived blindfold, and conducted into tlie forts, where Johnson 
had drawn up his forces so as to display them to the best ad- 
vantage. 

By transferring his troops from fort to fort, by short routes, 
the Frenchman was led to quadruple, in his estimate, the real 
numbers of the defenders. Having demanded thQ surrender 
of the town and country to the arms of France, the messenger 
concluded, by declaring, that his orders allowed him but a sin- 
gle hour in which to receive an answer, 

Johnson answered, promptly, that it did not need a minute. 

51. W'ho were the cs^iitains in arms for the colony ? 52. What was the population 
and military force of the colony, at this period? 53. Who commanded the fleet? 
64. What was the progress of the enemy? 55. What their demand? 56. What thp 
reply of Johnson ? 



82 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

" I hold this country for the queen of England," said he ; " T 
am ready to die, but not to deliver up my trust. My men will 
shed the last drop of their blood, to defend the country from 
the invader." 

This answer, with the report of his messenger, seems to have 
lessened the spirit of Le Feboure. His fleet remained station- 
ary ; and, instead of attacking the city, he contented himself 
with setting on foot some predatory incursions into the contigu- 
ous islands. 

The day following this interview, a party went ashore, at 
James' island, from which the militia had been withdrawn for 
the defence of the city. They committed some petty trespasses, 
and burnt the houses upon one or more plantations, but were 
soon driven to their boats by a detachment, under Captain 
Drake, who had been sent over to encounter them. 

Another party, of near two hundred men, landed on "Wando 
neck, and commenced similar depredations. While in a state 
of fancied security, they were surprised, before the break of 
day, by a detachment of one hundred men, under Captain Can- 
tey. A sharp fire, from several quarters aroused them, in the 
same moment, to equal consciousness and confusion. Many 
were killed, some drowned, and more wounded. Those who 
escaped the attack became prisoners of war. 

Meanwhile, Colonel Rhett, having got his little fleet in readi- 
ness, weighed his anchors, and moved down the river to where 
the enemy lay. But the French did not wait his assault. 
They escaped by superior sailing, and put to sea without suf- 
fering an exchange of shots. 

After they had disappeared from the coast, a ship of force, 
with two hundred men, arrived to their assistance, and was 
seen in Sewee bay, where she landed a number of troops. 
This intelligence induced the governor to send Captain Fen- 
wicke against them by land, while Rhett, with two vessels, 
sailed round by sea, with the view to prevent their escape by 
that quarter. 

57. What the effect on La Feboure ? 58. What then did the French ? 59. Who en- 
countered them on James' island ? 60. Who on Wando neck ? 61. With what suc- 
cess ? 62. Wh.at of Rhott's flotilla ? 



ADMINISTRATIONS OF BLAKE AND JOHNSON. 83 

Fenwicke, though he found the enemy well posted, charged 
them gallantly, and drove them, after a spirited conflict, to their 
vessels. They fled from one foe only to encounter another. 
The movements of Rhett and Fenwicke had been so well con- 
certed, that the ships of the former encountered the enemy in 
the bay, where she struck without firing a shot. 

Thus ended this expedition of Monsieur Le Feboure, against 
Carolina, as much to his own discredit as to the honor of the 
Carolinians. Of eight hundred men, who came against the 
colony, nearly three hundred were killed and taken prisoners. 
Among the latter, was their chief land officer. Monsieur Ar- 
bouset, and several other officers. 

Governor Johnson was a man of courage and spirit ; the 
militia were men hardened to danger, by frequent encounters 
with the Spaniards, the pirates, and the Indians. They exe- 
cuted their commands with the promptitude and valor of men 
who fought for, and in sight of, their homes, their wives, and 
children ; and realized those results which seldom fail to 
reward the warrior who bares his sword under the same 
sacred auspices. 

63. What ship was captured? 64. How ended the invasion? 65. "What was the 
secret of Johnson's success against the invader? 



84 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 



CHAPTER V. 

1708 TO 1719. CIVIL STRIFES. — WARS WITH THE RED MEN. 

Colonel Edward Tynte succeeded Sir Nathaniel John- 
son in office, under commission from Lord Craven, successor, as 
palatine, to Lord Grenville, in 1708. Craven's policy favored 
the dissenters, as much as that of Grenville had discouraged 
them ; but Tynte had scarcely time to learn the real state of 
the country, and to establish proper regulations in it, before he 
died. 

At his death, a controversy arose, in the provincial council, 
about the succession, which had almost produced civil war, and 
did, for a brief period, array two strong parties in arms against 
each other. One of these declared for Robert Gibbs, the other 
for Thomas Brousfhton. 

Broughton drew together an armed force at his plantation, 
with which he marched upon the town. There, he encoun- 
tered a similar array, under the command of Gibbs, who 
manned the walls with the militia, and closed the gates against 
him. Aided by some of the inhabitants, who let down the 
drawbridge, Broughton, however, forced a passage and entered 
the city. After blows were exchanged, and ^vounds given, the 
party of Broughton prevailed, and marched toward the watch- 
house, in Broad street. There, two companies of militia were 
posted. The prudence of some of the leaders interposed to 
prevent the bloody consequences of an issue ; and, after vainly 
endeavoring to make himself heard, in the clamor of drum and 
trumpet which prevailed, Broughton led his men off in another 
quarter. 

Some farther excesses were committed, but the results were 

1. Who succeeded Johnson, as governor, and when ? 2. Who succeeded Grenville, 
as palatine? 3. What was Craven's policy? 4. Who were the competitors for the 
local authority when Tynte died ? 5. What was the strife between tliera? 



WARS Vnill THE RED MEN. 85 

less fatal than was to have been feared from such a conflict. 
Broughton was persuaded to withdraw his party, and it was 
agreed, between himself and Gibbs, that their several claims 
should be left to the proprietors for arbitrament. Their deter- 
mination was in favor of neither. The office of governor was 
conferred upon Charles Craven, a brother of the lord-palatine, 
who was immediately proclaimed in form, and took upon him 
the administration. 

Craven was a man of good judgment, prudence, courage, and 
integrity ; and, mutual esteem in council, and harmony in the 
colony, followed his appointment. He improved the defences 
of the colony, cultivated the friendship of the neighboring In- 
dians and Spaniards, and took especial heed to the equitable 
and prompt administration of justice. Under his direction, the 
harbor of Port Royal was sounded and examined, and the spot 
selected for the future erection of the town of Beaufort — so 
called, in honor of Henry, duke of Beaufort, afterward lord- 
palatine of the colony. 

In the year 1712, the Indians of the northern province, the 
Corees, Tuscaroras, and other tribes, rose in arms, and united 
to destroy the colonists. They murdered John Lawson, sur- 
veyor-general of the colony, and large numbers of other set- 
tlers. Aid was implored from South Carolina, and Craven 
despatched six hundred men, under the command of Colonel 
Barnwell, to their relief. 

Hideous and wild, indeed, was the wilderness, at this time, 
through which Barnwell was compelled to march. Unbroken 
forests, unopened swamps, deep waters, and tangled thickets, 
lay in his path. Without roads, he could employ neither car- 
riages nor horses, and yet, the utmost despatch was necessary, 
in order to save the North Carolinians from their bloody ene- 
mies. In spite of every difficulty, Barnwell rapidly made his 
way until he came up with the savages. He attacked them 



6. How did they compromise ? 7. Vv^lio was made governor? 8. Who was Craven, 
and what his cha,ract'?r? 9. What was done in respect to Port Eoj'al harbor? 
10. Whence the name of Beaufort? 11. What Indians rose in arms, in North Caro- 
lina, in 1712 ? 12. What crimes did tlicy commit ? 13. Who was sent to their relief? 
14. V/hat were Barnwell's diflicuUit«? 15. IIow did he surmonnt them? 



86 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

with boldness and success, slew three hundred men, and made 
captives of one hundred. 

The Tuscaroras he found, to the number of six hundred 
more, in one of their towns, on the Neuse river. They were 
sheltered by a wooden breastwork. Having surrounded them, 
and slain a considerable number, he compelled the rest to sue 
for peace. This was granted ; but, the faithless savages, as 
soon as lie had returned to South Carolina, renewed their mas- 
sacres. Barnwell's conduct in the war was complained of, 
by some of the persons in authority, in North Carolina, but 
without just reason. The people of the colony gave him 
their warmest approbation, and called the fort, which he had 
taken, by his name. 

A second demand was made upon Governor Craven, and 
a second force, under the command of Colonel Moore, the 
vSon of the former governor, was despatched to meet the enemy. 
Moore found the Indians on the Tau river, about fifty miles 
from its mouth, where they had thrown up entrenchments. 
They were well provided with small arms, but were soon 
taught the folly of standing a siege. Moore defeated them, 
entered their works, and made eight hundred prisoners. The 
military strength of the Tuscaroras was annihilated in these 
conflicts. 

This Indian war was succeeded by another, which, for a time, 
threatened the very existence of the colony. The numerous 
and powerful tribe, or nation, of the Yemassees, possessing a 
large territory, in the neighborhood of Port Royal, had long 
been friendly to the Carolinians. They had engaged, as allies, 
in most of the wars against the Spaniards, the French, and 
Indian tribes ; had done good service, and always proved 
faithful. But, with the usual caprice of the red men, they 
suddenly became hostile. Instigated by the Spaniards, at St. 
Augustine — the hereditary enemies of the Carolinians — who 

16. What were his successes against the Indians ? 17. What was the conduct of the 
savages after they had been received to mercy ? IS. What is said of Barnwcirs con- 
duct? 19. Who was next sent against the Indians from South Carolina? 20. What 
were Moore's successes against the Indians ? 21. What enemies rose against the col- 
ony, in 1715? 22. Where dwelt the Yemassees? 23. What had been their previous 
bearing toward the whites ? 24. By whom were they excited to war ? 



WARS WITH THE RED MEN. 87 

had united the Cherokees, the Muscoghees, and other Indian 
nations, in a league, for the destruction of the colony — the 
Yemassees also appeared in arms, in 1715. With so much 
secrecy had their proceedings been conducted, that, at their 
first foray, above ninety persons fell, under their hatchets, on 
the plantations, near Pocotaligo. Joined with the Muscoghees 
and Apalachians, they advanced along the southern frontier, 
spreading desolation and slaughter where they came. Dividing 
into parties, they attacked Port Royal and St. Bartholomew. 

Their numbers were increased by the Congarees, the Cataw- 
bas, and the Cherokees ; and the Carolinians, taken by sur- 
prise, were soon taught to apprehend the very worst conse- 
quences from the presence of a foe no less numerous than 
savage. The Indians, of the southern division, mustered more 
than six thousand warriors ; those of the northern, were near a 
thousand more. From Florida to Cape Fear, they were 
banded together, and marching forward, from several quarters, 
to the destruction of the colony, at Ashley river. 

But Craven proved himself equal to the emergency. He 
proclaimed martial law, laid an embargo on all ships, to pre- 
vent either men or provisions from leaving the colony, seized 
upon arms and ammunition wherever they were to be found, 
and armed a force of trusty negroes, to co-operate with the 
white militia. With two hundred and fifty men, at first, and, 
subsequently, twelve hundred, he marched to meet the enemy. 

The Indians, meanwhile, continued to advance, plundering 
and murdering, without mercy, as they came. Thomas Barker, 
a captain of militia, with a small force, encountered them, and 
was slain, with many of his men. At Goose Creek, a force of 
four hundred savages surrounded a little stockade, which con- 
tained seventy white men and forty negroes. These maintained 
themselves, stoutly, for a while, but, listening imprudently to 
overtures of peace, they admitted the savages within their de- 
fences, and were all butchered. 

25. What allies had they among other Indian tribes ? 26. What was their first suc- 
cess? 27. How were their numbers increased? 28. What their entire force in arms? 
29. From what different points did they march ? 30. How did Governor Craven pre- 
pare for them ? 31. What was his force? 82. What befell Captain Barker? 83. What 
happened at the stockade of Goose Creek ? 



88 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

In this manner, in a desultory march, the enemy overrLUi 
the country around the capital, until the approach of Governor 
Craven compelled their scattered bands to fall back upon their 
great camp, upon the Salke-hatchie. 

Craven advanced with cautious but undeviating footsteps. 
The fate of the whole province depended on the success of his 
arms, and conquest, or death, were the only alternatives before 
him. Fortunately, for the Carolinians, they had long been 
accustomed to the Indian modes of warfare. Its strange cries, 
and sudden terrors, did not appal them. The war-whoop had 
become a familiar sound, which they had learned to echo back 
with defiance ; and, when the battle joined, adopting the parti- 
san warfare, which the deep thickets and interminable swamps 
of the country seem to suggest as the most likely to prove suc- 
cessful, they encountered their more numerous foes with confi- 
dence and success. 

The Indians fought with desperation and fury, but were de- 
feated. Driven from their camp, they maintained a flying 
warfare, but found the Carolinians as inveterate in the pursuit 
as they had been valiant in the conflict. Craven kept his men 
close at the heels of the enemy, until, step by step, in a suc- 
cession of conflicts, in which Colonel Mackay, Captain Chick- 
en, and other leaders of the Carolinians, follow^ed the gallant 
example of Craven, they were finally expelled from the coun- 
try, and escaped only by throwing the Savannah between 
themselves and their foes. 

They found shelter in the walls of St. Augustine, and, for a 
time, until they grew troublesome, were treated there with 
sympathy and indulgence. Expelled from the allies, whom 
they could no longer serve, their future abodes were found in 
the everglades of the Seminoles, of which people they are con- 
jectured, with sufficient plausibility, to be the ancestors. In 

34. Where was their great camp establislied ? 85. How did Craven approach them ? 
S6. What was the result of the battle at Salke-hatchie ? 87. What other captains dis- 
tinguished themselves, after the example of Craven ? SS. How did the red men 
finally escape ? 39. W^here did they find refuge ? 40. Whither did they subsequently 
retire, and of what recent race of red men are they supposed to have been the aucea« 
tors ? 



WARS WITH THE RED MEN. 89 

this insurrection, Carolina gained a vast accession of valuable 
territory, but lost no fewer than four hundred inhabitants. 

Craven was succeeded in his short but brilliant administra- 
tion, by Robert Johnson, a son of Sir Nathaniel Johnson, who 
had formerly held the same office. 

He found the Carolinians suffering from the vast debts accu- 
mulated by their recent wars," the invasion of the province by 
the Indians and Spaniards, and the destruction of their com- 
merce by the pirates. To relieve them from this last annoy- 
ance, having no vessels-of-war of their own, application was 
made to the king of England, now George, of Hanover, wdio 
issued a proclamation, offering pardon to all pirates who should 
surrender themselves within twelve month's. At the same 
time, a force was ordered to sea, for their suppression. 

As the island of Providence had long been their harboring 
place. Captain Woods Rogers, with a few ships-of-war, took 
possession of it for the crown. All the pirates on the island, 
with the exception of one Vane, and about ninety men, w^ho 
escaped in a sloop, surrendered themselves, under the procla- 
mation of the king. Vane fled to North Carolina, and distin- 
guished himself, soon after, by the capture of two merchant 
ships of Charlestown. Two pirate sloops, commanded by 
Steed Bonnett and Richard Worley, found refuge in Cape 
Fear river, whence they issued on their depredations. 

Against these. Colonel William Rhett, the same gentleman 
who had distinguished himself in the French invasion, was 
sent, in a single ship. Rhett soon discovered Bonnett, pursued 
and, after a sharp action, captured him. Governor Johnson 
himself embarked soon after this achievement, and captured 
the sloop of Worley, after a desperate conflict. The pirates 
fought with the fury of doomed men, and were all killed or 
wounded. The wounded men were tried, and instantly exe- 

41. What were the peculiar losses and gains of the colony, by this war? 42. Who 
succeeded Craven ? 43. In what condition did he find the colony V 44. Where did 
the colony obtain vessels of war against the pirates? 45. What proclamation was 
issued ? 46. Where did the pirates usually harbor ? 47. Who captured it from them? 
48. What pirate refused to surrender ? 49. Whither did Vane fly, with what force, 
and what did he subsequently do ? 50. What other pirates found refuge in Cape Fear 
river ? 51. Who was sent against them ? 52. Who did Rhett capture ? 53. Who did 
Governor Johnson capture ? 



90 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

cuted, to anticipate the more honorable death which was threat- 
ened by their wounds. Bonnett and his crew were also tried, 
and all, except one man, were hnng, and buried on White 
Point, below high-water mark. 

Johnson increased his popularity by this display of valor. 
Other achievements, of the same kind, followed these, and the 
coast of Carolina was, at length, cleared of those robbers of the 
sea, who had fastened themselves upon the infant colony, al- 
most from its commencement. 

It was during the administration of Johnson (1719), that a 
revolution was effected in the colony, by which the people 
threw off the proprietary government, and placed themselves 
under that of the crown. It is needless to go into details, to 
show the causes which moved them to this change. They 
have, already, been summed up, in former pag^s, and it is 
enough, in this place, to say, that the interests of the two par- 
ties, not, perhaps, well understood by either, were never found 
to assimilate. It would be a miracle, indeed, if a colony, gov- 
erned from a distance, should be^ well governed ; and the natu- 
ral evils, incident to such a state of things, were necessarily 
increased by those peculiar troubles which had harassed the 
fortunes of the Carolinians. Repeated wars, frequent inva- 
sions, robberies by pirates, and the heavy debts which accrued 
from these events, had made them ready to ascribe — either to 
political influence abroad, and to the operation of laws in 
which neither their wishes nor their interests had been con- 
sulted by the proprietors, the oppressive circumstances against 
which they had so long struggled. Briefly, the contest was 
for popular rights, and republican principles ; for freedom of 
opinion in society, church, and state ; all of which had been 
virtually denied by the government, which had usurped, 
wholly, the attributes of the representative assembly. These 
being the fruitful topics of quarrel, the conflict between the 

54. How were the captured pirates dealt with V 55. Wliat revolution followed in 
the affairs of the colony, in 1719, and during the governorship of Johnson? 56. Why 
did the people seek to throw otf the proprietary government ? 57. What were the 
various troubles of the Carolinians ? 58. Briefly, what was the cause "of conflict, at 
all times, between the people and the proprietors ? 59. Of what usurpation had tho 
government be«n guilty ? 



WARS WITH THE RED MEN. 91 

lords and the actual possessors of the soil, grew, daily, more 
serious ; and, availing themselves of the presence of the pro- 
vincial assembly, then in session, in Charlestown, the leaders 
of the people prepared, in secret, the scheme of a revolution, 
which proved perfectly successful. 

To these proceedings, Governor Johnson, who was a faithful 
adherent of the proprietors, was an entire stranger, until he re- 
ceived a letter, dated November 28th, 1719, and signed by 
Alexander Skene, George Logan, and William Blakeway, in 
which they informed him of the general association to throw 
off the proprietary rule. Against these attempts, Johnson 
struggled earnestly, but vainly. A proclamation, for dissolv- 
ing an assembly which he found himself unabled to manage, 
was torn from the hands of the marshal, he himself was de- 
posed, and Colonel James Moore, already known for his mili- 
tary achievements, was made governor in his stead. 

A day, which had been appointed by Johnson, for reviewing 
the militia, M^as that chosen by the convention which elected 
Moore, for the purpose of publicly proclaiming him. 

The governor, having intelligence of this design, ordered 
Colonel Parris, the commander of the militia, to postpone the 
review. Parris, however, was one of the popular party, and 
Johnson was surprised, on the day appointed, to find the mili- 
tia drawn up in the market-place, drums beating, and colors 
flying on forts and shipping. Exasperated beyond prudence, 
at this defiance of his authority, he advanced upon Parris, as 
if to assault him ; but the colonel ordered his men to present, 
and fire, if he advanced a step nearer. Johnson found himself 
utterly unsupported. Moore was, temporarily, declared gov- 
ernor of the province, in the king's name ; and, the acclama- 
tions of the populace, and the unanimity which prevailed 
among them, sufficiently declared to Johnson his own, and the 
downfall of the proprietary government. 

60. How did the leaders of the people proceed ? 61. What was the first communi- 
cation which Governor Johnson had of their proceedings', and when? 62. How did 
he attempt to arrest the revolution ? 63. What was the result, to himself, of his 
efforts? 64. Who was appointed in his stead? 65. What day was chosen for pro- 
claiming Moore? 66. What order did Johnson issue to the commander of the mili- 
tia? 67. How was he obeyed? 68. What was Johnson's conduct on the occasion, 
and how met ? 69. In whose name was Moore proclaimed governor ? 



92 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

One circumstance, alone, revived his hopes. Having re- 
ceived certain advice that a Spanish fleet, of fourteen ships 
and twelve hundred men, had left the Havana, destined against 
South Carolina and the island of Providence, Johnson con- 
ceived it a proper time to endeavor to recall the people to a 
sense of their duty. He wrote to the convention, and strove 
to reclaim them, by showing the danger of military operations 
under illegal authority ; but, the stubborn citizens remained 
'firm in their defection, laughed at his warnings, and, in concert 
with the governor of their own creation, proceeded to make 
preparations for their defence. The militia was soon under 
arras, but escaped, this time, any trial of their strength. The 
Spanish expedition jjroved abortive. Repulsed from Provi- 
dence, and dismantled in a storm, the hostile armament was 
incapable of injury to Carolina. 

The arrival of several English armed vessels, in the port of 
Charlestown, suggested other plans to the deposed representa- 
tive of the lord-proprietors. Their commanders having de- 
clared for him, as the magistrate invested with legal authority, 
he brought up the ships-of-war in front of the town, and threat- 
ened its immediate destruction, if the inhabitants any longer 
withheld their obedience to his authority. 

But, with arms in their hands, and forts in their possession, 
accustomed to conflict, and, perhaps, rather pleased with its 
excitements, the Carolinians were not to be terrified by the 
threats of one whose persuasions had failed to pacify them. 
Their answer of scornful defiance, accompanied by a couple of 
shot from the forts, convinced Johnson of the hopelessness of 
his cause ; and, finding the people so determined, he drew off" 
his forces, and forbore all farther attempts to recover his lost 
authority. 

The lords-proprietors, at length, made aware of the impolicy 
of any farther struggles in behalf of a plantation, which they 
had managed with reference to their own pride and love of 

70. Did Johnson make any fartlier attempts to regain his lost authority ? 71. What 
foreign danger, threatening the colony, encouraged his attempts? 72. Did he suc- 
ceed ? 73. What other event encouraged him in still another effort ? 74. What were 
his threats, and how answered ? 75. What persuaded him to submit, and satisfied 
him of the liopele«8ne88 of farther effort? 76. What did the lords-proprietors ? 



WARS WITH THE RED MEN. 93 

power, rather than to its real wants and the particular circum- 
stances of its condition ; and, perhaps, wearied with the contin- 
ual opposition of a fiery .and headstrong people, were easily 
persuaded to dispose of their pecuniary interests to the crown 
of England. Their political rights, under the charter, had 
been already declared forfeited. The complaints of the people 
were, at length, heard by the crown, among whose councillors 
they aroused the liveliest indignation. The proprietors made 
a merit of necessity, and subsequently for a consideration, yielded 
up the province which they could no longer keep. It was about 
this time that the province was divided into the colonies of South 
and North Carolina. With the appointment of General Fran- 
cis Nicholson, as governor of the former colony, begins the 
royal government of England over it. 

77. How was the province divided ? 78. Who became the first royal governor of 
South Carolina? ^ 



BOOK III. 

ROYAL GOVERNMENT. 1719 TO 1736. 



CHAPTER I. 

1719 TO 1736. 

The change from the proprietary to the royal government 
produced its natural effects, in temporarily harmonizing the 
several parties in the coipny. These had all substantially 
arisen from the popular impatience of a foreign control, which 
did not recognise their claims, as men or citizens, having pro- 
per competence for the management of their own affairs. The 
people had imbibed too many ideas of their own rights to sub- 
rait placidly to the revival, in the new world, of that feudal 
domination which was rapidly dying out in the old. 

The government, now conferred on South Carolina, was 
modelled on that of the British constitution. It consisted of a 
governor, a council, and an assembly, with the power of mak- 
ing their own laws, ^he king appointed the governor, and 
delegated to him his constitutional authority. The council, 
also appointed by the king, was to advise with the governor, 
and assist in legislation — representing a House of Lords ; 
while the assembly, like the English House of Commons, was 
elected by the people, and constituted the guardian of their 
rights, liberties, lives, and property. The governor could con- 
vene, prorogue, or dissolve the assembly, and had a negative 
on the bills of both houses, with other powers. But, even 
after bills had received his assent, they were yet required to 

1. How did the change, from proprietary to royal government, affect South Caroli- 
na? 2. What kind of government was l)t'stowed On the province ? 3. What powers 
were confided to the governor ? 



FROM 1719 TO 1736. ' 95 

be transmitted to Great Britain, for the king's approval, though 
still obligatory as laws until his decision was made known. 

This establishment was a vast improvement upon the old, 
which it superseded. The people were satisfied with it. They 
were not yet prepared for anything more liberal ; not yet ready 
to quarrel with a government which, though still foreign, had 
proved so satisfactory to their ancestors and brethren in Great 
Britain. 

That government had been settled by usage and acceptance. 
It was no longer a speculative plan of rule, emanating from 
closet or mercurial politicians, theorists or dreamers, but a 
constitution which had been tried, tested, and matured by suc- 
cessive ages of experience. 

For a time, accordingly, the political discontents of the colony 
were at an end ; and, for a long while after, the royal govern- 
ment performed its duties with a vigor and wisdom which jus- 
tified all the hopes of the colonists. 

Its first object^, after the transfer of the colony from the lord- 
proprietors to the crown, was to re-establish peace and harmony 
upon the most equitable foundation. Laws were passed, re- 
lieving the people from many of the evils of which they had 
complained. The treaties of alliance and amity with the red 
men were confirmed, and, during the administration of Nichol- 
son, the fortunes of the people might be said to prosper surpris- 
ingly. 

The population of white inhabitants numbered fourteen thou- 
sand, in 1724, and the importation of negro slaves, in this one 
year, is reported at more than four hundred. The imports, 
the same year, into the province, including the slaves and for- 
eign goods, were estimated to amount to between fifty and 
sixty thousand pounds ; in return for which, the exports Vv'ere 
eighteen thousand barrels of rice, fifty-two thousand of pitch, 
tar, and turpentine, untold quantities of deer, bear, and beaver 

4. What check upon the provincial government was secured by the crown ? 5. Wliat 
commended the new government to the people ? 6. What is said of the British con- 
stitution •? 7. Did the new government satisfy the expe.etations of the people ? 8. What 
was the first object of government? 9. What laws were passed with this object— what 
treaties renewed? Ki. Wliat, at this period, was the white population of the prov- 
ince ? 11. What number of negro slaves were imported this year ? 12. What was'the 
gross value of imports this yt>ar? 13. What were tlie exports? 



96 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

skins and furs, together with a considerable quantity of raw 
silk, lumber, and other articles. 

In the brief space of five years, under the new administra- 
tion, the improvement had been astonishing. At the time of 
the change from the proprietary to the royal government, the 
colony was still a very feeble one. - Kept under the former 
rule, it would, perhaps, never have emerged from a state of 
infancy, unless into one of greater decrepitude and final decay. 
St. Stephen's parish was its frontier, in 1719. There, at Dor- 
chester, Wiltown, and other places, along the coast and country, 
forts were maintained — either stockades, blockhouses, or earth- 
works, each enclosing a barrack, for security from the red men. 
The settlers, Indian traders excepted, rarely ventured, unless in 
large bodies, and in marching order, with arms in hand, fifty 
miles from the seaboard. The middle and upper country was 
wholly in possession of the red men, who were rarely quiet, 
were res^tless, capricious, jealous, keen after blood and spoils, 
and ever meditating their incursions, for plunder, in some di- 
rection. They prowled about the settlements perpetually, and 
within twenty miles of Charlestown, with impunity. 

The tov/n, itself, relied upon very doubtful securities. The 
fortifications did not now (1720) include all the settled por- 
tions. They simply compassed that portion of the town, which 
lay between the central market and Water street, in one direc- 
tion, the bay and Meeting street, in the opposite. The town 
had outgrown these limits without any corresponding growth 
of its securities, and a considerable, though somewhat scattered 
suburb, west and north of the old walls, was left wholly unfor- 
tified. Pirates and Spaniards, French and Indians, were ever 
on the watch to assail ; yet the military organization was 
wretchedly imperfect ; the frontier police feeble and inefficient ; 

14, "What was the progress of the colony in the five first years of the royal govern- 
ment? 15. How did it compare with that of the proprietors? 16. What parish was 
the frontier, in 1719 ? 17. Wliere were forts maintained, at that period ? 18. How far 
into the interior did settlers ventnre to go, and how prepared? 19. What then of the 
middle and upper country ? 20. How near to Charlestown did the red men venture 
with impunity ? 21. What were the securities of the town, itself? 22. What tract did 
its fortifications include? 28. What of its suburbs ? 24. From whom had it most to 
fear? 25, WHiat was the military organization — the frontier police — the means for 
bringing the militia to a rendezvous ? 



FROM 1719 TO 1736. 97 

and the means for bringing the militia together so tardy and 
ineffective, that a fleet and vigorous foe might make his swoop, 
like a hawk, upon the quarry, and be gone before the alarm- 
gun could rouse the settlement. The royal government ad- 
dressed itself, with prompt wisdom and energy, to the work of 
curing all these disabilities and deficiencies. 

In 1725, Arthur Middleton succeeded Nicholson, as gov- 
ernor. Middieton had long before distinguished himself, as 
president of the council, and in other capacities, by his pru- 
dence, moderation, activity, and general intelligence. He had 
led the popular revolution, by which the proprietary govern- 
ment was overthrovt^n. 

The troubles of his administration, now, were chiefly with 
the Spaniards, the red men, and the emissaries of the French 
among the latter. Reprisals .were made against the, Spaniards- 
and Indians, within the Spanish province of Florida, when ar- 
gument and entreaty failed. Tlie French, who, from the Mis- 
sissippi had penetrated to the Alabama, and were in occupation 
of fortresses on that river, gave great trouble, also, in stirring 
up the Creek and Cherokee Indians to hostility. And this 
period of struggle between the rival races, inaugurates that ter- 
rible and protracted conflict, called the " Old French War," in 
which England and France so fiercely contended for the exclu- 
sive power and influence over the various nations of red men 
in the vast interior. 

The summer of 1728 was marked by great disasters in the 
growing metropolis of South Carolina. The season had been 
one of extreme drouth, and was followed by a dreadful hurri- 
cane, in August, which threatened, for a time, the destruction 
of the town. The streets were inundated ; the inhabitants 
found refuge in their upper stories. Twenty-three ships were 
driven ashore, most of which were destroyed. The storm was 
followed by the pestilence. The yellow fever swept oflf multi- 

26. Under these circumstances, how did the royal government act? 27. Who suc- 
ceeded to Nicholson as governor, in 1725? 28. How was Middleton previously 
known ? 29. What were the troubles of his administration V 30. What were the ap- 
proaches of the French ? 31. What struggle was Inaugurated, at this period ? 32. What 
of the summer of 1T2S ? 33. What happened in August of that year ? 34, What fol- 
lowed the hurricane V 



98 HISTORY OP SOUTH CAROLINA. 

tudes — hoth white and hlach. All fled who could. The plant- 
ers sent no supplies to town, and thei^ was imminent danger 
of death from famine, as well as from the disease. So great 
was the mortality, and such the condition of those who re- 
mained, that it was not always found easy to procure the ordi- 
nary assistance for the burial of the dead. 

Disasters so terrible and frequent, might well have discour- 
aged the hope and enterprise of the infant city ; but the peo- 
ple of those days were possessed of an admirable elasticity of 
character ; and, after each momentary shock, they shook them- 
selves free of its terrors, and resumed their toils with the vigor 
which had so often saved them from even harder fortunes. 
Under the old rule, they might have been paralyzed, or contin- 
ued only a feeble struggle for existence. 

It was during this year that, by an act of parliament, the 
title of the lords-proprietors in the soil of the colonies, was 
finally extinguished by purchase. Hitherto, the government, 
only, had been surrendered ; now, the soil was sold to the 
crown. But, one of the lord-proprietors (Lord Carteret), re- 
fused to dispose of his share, and this was, accordingly, reserved 
to him from the sale. 

It will suggest matter of curious reflection to the Carolinian 
of the present day, when told that seven-eighths of the whole 
territory of the present state of South Carolina, was hought, by 
the crown of England^ for seventeen thousand five hundred 
founds! — with the arrears of quit rents (five thousand pounds), 
due from the people to the proprietors, and which the crown 
also assumed, but twenty-two thousand five hundred pounds, — 
less than one hundred and twenty thousand dollars in all. 

In 1730, with a proper regard to domestic security, and to 
the increasing embarrassments with the red men, occasioned by 
the machinations of French and Spaniard, an interesting em- 
bassage was undertaken to the mountain-country of the Chero- 
kees. At the head of this expedition was Sir Alexander Cum- 

85. What was the condition of the city ? 36. How did the people behave, under 
their calamities ? .37, What act of parliament, this year, was of peculiar interest to 
South Carolina? 38. Who, among the proprietaries, refused to sell his share? 
89. For what was the territory of South Carolina sold to the crown? 40. What em- 
bassage was sent, in 1730, to what people, and by what ambassador? 



FROM 1719 TO 1736. 99 

ming. Three hundred miles from Charlestown, in their chief 
town of Keowee, he met their principal warriors and head 
men ; was well received, and assisted at the installation of some 
of their chiefs. Six of these wild inhabitants of the forest ac- 
companied him, in the end, to England, where they proved to be 
objects of the most curious interest to both court and people. 
The king told them that "he took it kindly that the great/ 
nation of Cherokee had sent them so far to brighten the chain 
of friendship between his and theirs. That chain," he said, " is 
now like the sun, w^hich shines as well in Britain as upon the 
great mountains where they live. It equally warms the hearts 
of Indians and of Englishmen ; and, as there is no blackness on 
the sun, so neither is there any rust upon the chain. He had 
fastened one end of it to his breast, and he desired them to 
carry the other end and fasten it to the breast of Moytoy, of 
Telliquo, the great chief, and to the breasts of all their wise 
men, their captains, and the people — never more to be broken 
or unloosed." 

The treaty which followed this interview was pronounced; by 
both parties, to be one which should endure while the rivers 
continued to run, the mountains to stand, and the sun to shine. 
Skiajagustah, the Cherokee orator, made a reply in the figura- 
tive language of his people. 

" "We are come hither," he said, " from a mountainous place, 
where all is darkness ; we are now in a place where all is light. 
There was one in our country who gave us a yellow token of 
warlike honor, which is with Moytoy of Telliquo. He came to 
us like a warrior from you. As warriors we received him. He 
is a man — his talk was good — his memory is among us. We 
love the great king ; we look upon him as the sun. He is our 
father ; we are his children. Though you are white and we 
are red, our hearts and hands are joined together. We shall 
die in this way of thinking ; we shall tell our people what w^e 
hav€ seen — our children, from generation to generation, will 
remember it. In war we shall be one with you. Your ene- 

41. By whom was Sir Alexander Gumming accompanied to Europe ? 42. How 
were the Cherokee chiefs addressed by the king ? 43. What answer was made by the 
Cherokee orator ? 



100 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

mies sliail be ours ; your people and ours shall be one, and 
shall live together ; your white people may build their houses 
beside us. We shall not do them hurt, for we are children of 
one father." 

He laid down a bunch of eagles' feathers as he added ; 
" These stand for our words ; they are the same to us as letters 
in a book to you. To your beloved men we deliver these 
feathers to stand for all that we have said." 

For tuenty years this peace was religiously observed by both 
parties ; but we must not anticipate for so long a period. 

In 1730, Robert Johnson, who, it will be remembered, was 
the last of the governors under the regime of the proprietors, 
was invested with the royal commission for the executive office 
of the colony. He had been fiiithfully tenacious of the rights 
and claims of the proprietors, and in opposition to the people ; 
but these latter found no fault with him now for his fidelity to 
his employers then. He was honorably welcomed to the colony 
and his office. He brought back with him the Cherokee chiefs 
M'ho had been carried to England. 

The new governor was highly competent to his duties. His 
council was well chosen ; he knew the wants of the colony, the 
character of the people, the resources of the country, and the 
influences which might endanger its peace. His measures were 
all taken accordingly, with moderation and wisdom. New priv- 
ileges were conferred upon the colonists, calculated to encour- 
age agriculture and enlarge the fields of trade ; old restraints 
upon rice were taken off; a discount was allowed on hexiip ; the 
arrears of quit-rents were remitted by the crown ; bills of credit 
were issued to the amount of £77,000 ; and seventy pieces of 
cannon were sent by the king for several fortresses. An inde- 
pendent company of foot was allowed for the defence of the 
province, and ships-of-war were stationed along the coast. These 
benefits and privileges wonderfully sweetened the popular mind, 

44. How -was the treaty then made observed by tbe parties, and how long? 45. 
Who became governor in 1731 ? 46. How was Governor Johnson received by the 
people, and Avhom did he bring with him ? 47. In what degree was he capable of 
his duties? 48. What was the policy pursued, and what favor did it find with the 
people ? 49. What help in men, arms, and ships-of-war, was accorded by the crown 
to the province ? 



FROM 1719 TO 1736. 101 

and increased the general prosperity. The wealth, and con- 
sequently the credit, of the province grew rapidly, and espe- 
cially in the trading and manufacturing towns of England. 
London, Bristol, and Liverpool, looked lovingly on the brisk 
and flourishing settlements between the Ashley and the Cooper. 
They poured in floods of African slaves for cultivating the 
fields, and cargoes of manufactures for supplying the planta- 
tions ; and, in those days, these were thought very virtuous 
proceedings. Planters and merchants, equally, were happy in 
the conviction that they were blessings and beneficial, pleasant 
and profitable, as well as virtuous. Exports increased in pro- 
portion with the imports ; wealth spread ; lands rose in value ; 
an(J, in a few years, the produce of the province ^vas more than 
doubled. 

The vast increase of negro slaves opened boundless plains 
of virgin fertility and freshness to the sun — regions, hitherto 
inaccessible to European labor, as antagonist to European life 
and health. In 1731, forty thousand barrels of rice were ex- 
ported, besides great quantities of furs, skins, naval stores, and 
provisions. Charlestown soon numbered six hundred dwell- 
ings. The improvement was incessant. Art and labor reported 
daily progress. The accessions of population and property from 
abroad were such as very soon to distinguish the Ashley river 
settlement as one of the most flourishing of all the English col- 
onies in America. 

Nor was this progress confined wholly to the metropolis. Its 
influence naturally spread to the interior. A large accession of 
Indian lands won the more adventurous to the borders of the 
Cherokee country, and opened new tributaries to trade and 
enterprise. 

Meanwhile, the territory beyond the Savannah was separated 
from the government of South Carolina, and, under the name 
of Georgia, was formed into a new colony, and settled, in 1733, 

50. How did the government policy affect tlie interests of South Carolina in respect 
to profits, land, trade, negro slavery, and exports ? 51. What was the effect of negro 
slavery upon the prosperity of South Carolina ? 52. What were the exports in 1731 ? 
53. "What number of dwellings had Charlestown that year ? 54. How was the settle- 
ment ot Ashley river regarded abroad ? 55. What was the effect upon the interior? 
56. What new colony was created in 1733 ? 



102 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

under the government of the celebrated General Oglethorpe. 
South Carolina was to be no longer a frontier. The auspices 
promised everything for both colonies. Emigrants were dis- 
tributed between them, and both colonies became objects of de- 
sire and contemplation in the world of Europe, from which 
thousands were, every year, preparing to depart, seeking new 
fields of labor, or new securities for liberty. 

There soon came one colony, and then another, of Swiss, 
who, settling on the Savannah, established the town of Purys- 
burg, after the name of their leader, Pury. In 1734, a colony 
of Irish settled the precinct, in South Carolina, since called 
Williamsburg, and, by 1736, the settlement had spread west- 
ward some eighty or ninety miles from the seaboard. Bat 
these w^ere mostly confined to two classes of persons — Indian 
traders, who were generally Scotch, and graziers, who sought 
•wild pastures for large herds of cattle. The presence of their 
" cow-pens," as they were popularly called, necessarily implied 
a sparse population. The traders frequently dwelt with the red 
men, and took wives among them. One of these, in 1758, re- 
ported that he, with many others, had abandoned the homes of 
civilization more than twenty years before. He himself had 
then more than seventy children and grand-children among the 
red men. To this class of wanderers, and their descendants, 
the British were largely indebted for military service in the 
subsequent struggle with the colony Jn 1776. . They were nat- 
urally a hardy, bold, half-savage people, who as naturally ac- 
quired singular influence over the Indians. Their sympathies 
were rather with the crown than with the mixed peoples of the 
colony, which they had abandoned, and toward whom they 
entertained the jealousies natural to a large self-esteem, when 
blended with a conscious deficiency in civilization. 

Population was still, however, the great object of the British 
government. The increase, though large and rapid in South 

5T. Under whom ? 53. What were the auspices in respect to both colonies ? 59. By 
whom was the toM'n of Purysburg established ? 60. By whom \Villiamsburg ? 61. 
How far, in 1736, had population spread westw^ard ? 62. By what classes of settlers? 
63. What is said of the graziers ? 64. What of the traders ? 65. What did one of 
these report? 66. What is said of their relations with the crown, colony, and red 
men? 



FROM 1719 TO 1736. 103 

Carolina, was yet only relatively so. The settlements were 
still very small and far between. The plan adopted by the 
king's advisers for more speedily filling up the vacant places in 
the province, was to establish townships, each of twenty thou- 
sand acres, in square plats, along the banks of rivers — the 
lands being divided into shares of fifty acres for each several 
colonist, man, woman, or child. Eleven of these townships, on 
this plan, were thus established by Governor Johnson — two 
on the Altamaha, two on the Savannah, two cm the Santee, and 
one on each of the rivers Pedee, Black, Waccamaw, and 
Wateree. 

Under the new impulse given to trade, agriculture, and emi- 
gration, lands, which had hitherto lain everywhere derelect, were 
now eagerly sought, and soon be':ame the subject of grievous 
strifes and heart-burnings. Ev .rybody vied with his neighbor 
in the struggle for the acquisition of territory. The colony was 
finally vexed and troubled with the litigation which grew out of 
this struggle. But, though thus stimulative to cupidity and 
productive of strife, this evil had its benefits. Gradually, the 
roads were opened into the interior ; choice spots were planted ; 
hamlets grew as plantations spread, and religion soon began to 
rear her temples in the remote thickets which hitherto had 
heard no sweeter music than the long howl of the wolf and the 
more terrific yell of the savage. The wilderness, in a thousand 
places, was beginning to blossom with the rose ; but it was the 
wild rose still. Education was wanting. Society was a rare 
possession. The life of the country was solitary — nursing 
self-esteem, it is true, and courage and independence, but lack- 
ing in all those softer influences which only art and civilization, 
education and religion, can duly nurture for humanity. 

G7. What is said touching the increase of population ? 68. What plan did govern- 
ment adopt for inviting emigration ? 69. How were the townships divided ? 70. 
How many were established, and where ? 71. What was the effect of the new impulse 
in the province upon lands and settlers ? 72. What is said of religion, education, and 
society ? * 



104 HISTORY OP SOUTH CAROLINA. 



CHAPTER II 

NEGRO INSURRECTION — WAR WITH THE SPANIARDS, 1740. 

The royal governors of South Carolina, from 1721 to 1743, 
were five in number. Francis Nicholson was in the executive 
chair from 1721 to 1725 ; Arthur Middleton, from 1725 to 
1730; -Robert Johnson, from 1730 to 1735; Thomas Brough- 
ton, from 1735 to 1737 ; and William Bull, from 1737 to 1743, 
when he was succeeded by James Glenn. The contents of 
the present chapter involve the events occurring under Bull's 
administration. 

In the death of Johnson, Carolina was deprived of one of 
the most able, efficient, and popular of all her governors. He 
was succeeded by Thomas Broughton, a gentleman who had 
distinguished himself for a long time in her councils. We 
have seen, in previous pages, the progress of events under 
his administration. The next royal appointment was that of 
Samuel Horsley ; but he died soon after his appointment, and 
without having left England. 

The government then devolved on William Bull, a native of 
the province, in 1737. Bull was also v/ell known to the people 
as an efficient counselor. He had their preferences as a native ; 
was thoroughly acquainted with the affairs of the country ; a 
man of high character, considerable abilities, and large popu- 
larity. 

His government was not, however, a bed of roses. It did 
not commence under pleasant auspices, though welcomed by the 
people. His attention was soon called to the dangers from his 
neighbors, the Spaniards and French, and their influence among 

1. How many royal governors of the colony from 1721 to 1743 ? 2. Name them, and 
their periods of office. 3. What is said of Governor Johnson ? 4. What of Governor 
Broughton ? 5. What governor died before reaching Carolina? 6. What ia said of 
Governor Bull ? 7. What of his government ? 



NEGRO INSURRECTION. 105 

the red men. He advised llie home government of the grow- 
ing power of the Spaniards in Florida; of formidable prepara- 
tions on foot, threatening hostility, and of the weakness of Car- 
olina for defence. Georgia was still more feeble. Both prov- 
inces needed European help. 

A regiment of foot was accordingly ordered out from Eng- 
land, in response to this appeal, and the command was confided 
to General Oglethorpe, who had great military reputation. He 
was entrusted with the military government of both colonies. 
The early arrival of this regiment in Georgia, and the active 
preparations made by Oglethorpe for defence, discouraged the 
more open demonstrations of the Spaniards, but did not lessen 
their desire to do something mischievously. Their hostility 
was unabated ; they substituted an insidious for a warlike pol- 
icy ; they succeeded in corrupting some of the foreign soldiers 
of Oglethorpe, so that his assassination was absolutely attempt- 
ed ; but the assassins were slain, and the conspiracy was dis- 
covered and defeated. 

But this disappointment did not put an end to the schemes, or 
lessen the hostility, of the Spaniards. They worked in secret 
as malignantly as ever, in the hope to destroy a people whom 
they still continued to regard as trespassers on the territories 
of Spain. Their emissaries (black, red, and white) penetrated 
the settlements equally of Georgia and Carolina. In the latter 
province, the field was more accessible, in consequence of the 
large proportion of negro slaves to the white population. The 
numbers of this people had now grown, in Carolina, to forty 
thousand ; while the whites were but a third of that number. 
Most of the negroes were raw Africans, just emerging from the 
savage state. It is not hard, when appealing to the appetites 
and passions of such a race, to lead them astray ; and, tamper- 
ing equally with these and the red men, the Spaniards beguiled 

8. What is said of the preparation of the Spaniards-? 0. What was the condition 
of Georgia and Carolina for defence? 10. What succor came from England? 11. 
Who was made commander ? 12. What was the eifect of these succors upon the 
Spaniards ? 13. What their subsequent policy ? 14. Whom did they corrupt, and 
what followed ? 15. Where did their emissaries operate? 16. What was the negro 
population in South Carolina in 1740. 17. What was the proportion of whites ? IS. 
What classes did the Spaniards incorporate in their armies ? 

5* 



106 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

hundreds of both people from Carolina to St. Augustine, where 
they found employment in the ranks of the Spanish army. 

The Indians were employed as scouts and forayers. The 
negroes were formed into a regiment of their own, but with 
white officers. This fact, alone, was well calculated, when 
known in Carolina, to exercise a powerful effect on the imagi- 
nations of the negroes still remaining in slavery ; and, the 
emissaries of the Spaniards, still at work in the province, at 
length, succeeded in stimulating the blacks to insurrection. 
The negro can not long resist temptations which appeal to ap- 
petite ; his passions are too strong ; his intellect too mean and 
feeble, to suffer him to reason, even from his own experience ; 
and the cunning enemy soon used the semi-barbarians at his 
pleasure. The negroes, at first in small squads, and after- 
ward, in large bodies, rose in revolt among the settlements 
along the Stono (1740), and, having plundered certain store- 
houses of arms and ammunition, proceeded to elect their cap- 
tain — a fellow who v/as called, and whom his owner, probably, 
had christened, by the name of Cato, after the great Roman 
of the commonwealth. 

Cato proceeded, with drums and colors, on his march, toward 
the southwest. On tliis march, the work of massacre vras 
urged without remorse and without discrimination. They 
slaughtered the whites, mercilessly, without regard to sex or 
age ; and compelled the negroes, however reluctant, to fall 
into their ranks, at all the plantations in their way. 

It happened that Governor Bull, himself, was one of the 
first to discover their progress, without falling a victim to their 
rage. Returning to Charlestown, from the southward, he actu- 
ally met them, but without being seen himself. He had suffi- 
cient time, and presence of mind, to ride into the thickets ; and, 
by a wide circuit, to elude them altogether. He spread the 
alarm as he went, and hastened to muster his forces. 

The report reached the Willtown church (Presbyterian), 

* 19. What use did they make of the Indians? 20. How did they incorporate the ne- 
groes ? 21. What was the effect of this upon the slaves of Carolina ? 22. What is the 
negro character? 23. Where did the slaves rise in insurrection? 24. Who was their 
captain? 25. Whither did they march, and what performing? 26. Who first met 
them, and escaped ? 27. What congregation wn6 assembled at Willtown church? 



WAR WITH THE SPANIARDS. 107 

where a numerous congregation was even then assembled for 
public worship. It was, fortunately, the custom of the plant- 
ers — a custom counselled by experience, and enforced by 
law — to carry their arms with them, on all such occasions ; a 
terrible experience had made the weapons of the CaroHnians 
their invariable companions, for the whole seventy years of the 
existence of the province, whether the objects of the gathering 
were sport, or labor, or devotion. 

The congregation, accordingly, was easily organized from a 
troop of pilgrims, into a stout band of rangers and riflemen. 
Leaving their women and children, filled with terror, in the 
church, the men sallied forth, under the conduct of Captain 
Bee, and took the direct route for the revolted slaves. They 
found no difficulty in tracking them to their camp ; and came 
upon the miserable negroes while at their revels — carousing 
over the liquors which they had found by the way. They had 
halted in an open field, singing and dancing in all the barba- 
rous exultation of success. 

In this condition, to overcome them was an easy task. Di- 
viding his force into two squads, Bee attacked with one, while 
the other closed the avenues of escape. Cato, the leader, and 
a number more were killed outright ; the rest, dispersed in the 
woods, endeavored to steal back to the plantations which they 
had deserted. The survivins: rinsrleaders suflTered death, while 
the greater number were received to mercy. 

A war which followed, between Spain and England, afforded 
the Carolinians an opportunity for commencing a series of re- 
prisals upon the Spaniards, for the long train of evils which 
they had suffered at their hands (1740). The great foreign 
military reputation of General Oglethorpe, of the Georgia col- 
ony, indicated that gentleman as the proper person to lead the 
joint forces of the two provinces of Carolina and Georgia 
against their common enemy. A small European force was 
sent from Great Britain ; companies were furnished by Vir- 

28. What had been the cixstom of the planters? 29. What did they now, and by 
whom were they led ? 80. How did they find the insurgents ? 31. What followed ? 
82. What European nations were at war, in 1740? 33. What design was conceived 
against Florida, and by whom ? 84. What were the joint forces of Carolina and 
Georgia, under Oglethorpe V 



108 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

ginia and North Carolina ; the rest of the army was compose J 
of the Georgia militia, and a strong regiment from South Caro- 
lina, tinder the command of Colonel Vanderdussen. 

After various delays, which have been charged against Gen- 
eral Oglethorpe as the true causes of the failure of the expedi- 
tion, and which certainly enabled the Spaniards to provide 
against the invaders, Oglethorpe reached St. Augustine ; hav- 
ing, on his way, captured two small forts, called Moosa and 
Diego. His force amounted to two thousand men. But, dur- 
ing his stay at Fort Diego, the garrison, at St. Augustine, had 
received an accession of strengtii from six Spanish galleys, 
armed with long brass iiine-pounders, and two sloops, loaded 
with provisions. When he summoned the fortress, he was an- 
sw^ered with defiance. The haughty Don, secure in his strong- 
hold, sent him for answer, that he would be happy to shake 
hands with him within the castle. A bombardment followed 
this reply, but without effecting any change in the spirit of the 
defenders. The fire was returned from the castle and galleys, 
but little injury was done, on either side, and the besiegers 
found it wiser to consult than to cannonade. 

The only hope of Oglethorpe had been to effect his object by 
surpri,-e. Failing in this, the light weight of his metal, and 
the ample preparations of the Spaniards against blockade, left 
him but little prospect of achieving the conquest of so strong a 
fortress in any other manner. Meantime, the Spanish com- 
mander, perceiving that the operations of the besiegers were 
relaxed, and, suspecting their embarrassment, sent out a de- 
tachment of three hundred men against a small party, of 
Highlanders, under Colonel Palmer, which lay at Fort Moosa. 
Palmer suffered himself to be surprised, and his men, who 
were sleeping, at the time, were most of them cut in pieces. 

This disaster, in connection with the desertion of the alHed 
Indians, added to the already sufficient reasons which existed, 
for abandoning the expedition. These people, who are not cal- 

35. "What forts did Oglethorpe capture? 8G. How was St. Augustine succored? 
87. What answer did its governor make to Oglethorpe's summons? 88. What fol- 
lowed ? 39. What had been Oglethorpe's hope ? 40. What enterprise was attempted 
by the Spaniards, and with what success? 41. What causes led to the abandonment 
of the expedition? 



WAR WITH THE SPANIARDS. 109 

culated for tedious enterprises, that demand patience, and afford 
no opportunities for action, were offended with the haughty 
humanity of the general. When they brought him the scalp 
of an enemy, he called them barbarous dogs, rejected the tro- 
phy, and bade them begone from his sight. They compared 
this reception with that to which they had hitherto been accus- 
tomed, and, soon after, deserted him. 

The siege was raised (August, 1740), and its failure was 
ascribed, by the Carolinians, to the too deliberate and meas- 
ured advance of their commander, and to his subsequent timid- 
ity in making no bold attempt upon the town. He, on the 
other hand, declared that he had no confidence in the firmness 
of the provincials. There v/as, probably, some good ground 
for both complaints ; but, the truth is, the place was so strongly 
fortified, well provided, and numerously manned, that, in all 
probability, such an attempt must have failed, under the cir- 
cumstances, though conducted by the ablest officers, and exe- 
cuted by the best disciplined troops. 

The mutual recrimination, between the allied provinces, 
which followed this failure, led to many injurious dislikes and 
misunderstandings. To so great a degree was this dislike car- 
ried, on the part of the Carolinians, that, in a subsequent pe- 
riod, when Georgia was invaded by a Spanish force, they at 
first declined sending help to the sister colony ; alledging that 
they could not trust their troops to a commander in vv-hom they 
had no confidence. At a late hour, indeed, and when it was 
certain that Carolina, herself, was not the object of invasion, 
they resolved differently, and despatched three ships to the 
assistance of the Georgians. It would, perhaps, have been un- 
wise to do so before it was well known which colony was the 
object of attack. The appearance of this force upon the coast, 
gave a spur to the flight of the invaders. Oglethorpe had, al- 
ready, beaten them — acquitting himself like a good captain 

42. Why had the red men deserted ? 43. To what was the failure of the enterprise 
ascribed? 44. What seems to have been the truth, in this respect? 45. What evil 
results followed this failure ? 46. How was it supposed to influence the conduc' of 
Carolina, subsequently V 47. What was, probably, the true reason and the justifica- 
tion of the Carolinians for withholding their succor, at first? 48. What the efiTect 
of their final action ? 49. What had been Oglethorpe's previous successes ? 



110 HISTORY OP SOUTH CAROLINA. 

and a brave man, and fully redeeming the errors, if any, which 
he had made in the expedition to St. Augustine. 

To add to the disasters sustained by Carolina in the unsuc- 
cessful invasion of Florida — her losses of men, money and 
reputation — a desolating fire broke out, in Charlestown, on 
the eighteenth of November, 1740, in which fully one half of 
the city was destroyed. Three hundred houses were burnt ; 
several lives were lost, and numerous families utterly ruined. 
The loss was immense in foreign goods, and provincial commo- 
dities. The British parliament voted twenty thousand pounds 
for the relief of the suffering city. 

And here, it may be well to say that, thus far, the mother- 
country had showed herself a nobly nursing mother of the 
province. Under the two first Georges, indeed, the colonists 
had little of which to complain — much for which to be grate- 
ful. Lands were granted at cheap rates ; there were no tithes 
to be paid, and taxation was nominal. England was suffi- 
ciently compensated by the colonial trade and produce. Brit- 
ish manufactures were obtained at moderate rates ; drawbacks 
were allowed on all manufactures of foreign production ; arms 
and ammunition, men and money, were provided for the public 
defence ; and, in all respects, no contrast could be more com- 
plete, no difference more grateful, to the people, themselves, 
than that between the government of the g^i'oprietary lords, and 
that of the English crown. And this feeling and conviction 
was still strong with thousands, when, under a changed dispen- 
sation, the people were required to array themselves against 
the royal authority. It is not a subject for surprise, that so 
many should be found unwilling to forego their loyalty in their 
republican patriotism. 

50. What terrible event happened to Charlestown, at the close of this year? 
51. What assistance was given by the British parliament? 52. What is said of the 
conduct of the mother-country, under the two first Georges ? 53. What of lands — 
tithes — taxation? 54. How was England compensated? 55. How the colony bene- 
fitted by indulgences and succors ? 56. What the contrast between the old proprie- 
tary and tlie royal government? 57. What effect, upon miny, had this paternal gov- 
ernment of the crown, in the subsequent struggles of the Uepubllc? 



FROM 1740 TO 1743. HI 



CHAPTER III. 

FROM 1740 TO 1743. 

While the war continued between Great Britain and Spain, 
a bill was brought into parliament, to prevent the exportation, 
among other provisions, of rice, into France or Spain. Against 
this measure, the Carolinians remonstrated with the House of 
Commons, alleging that rice was the commodity of most im- 
portance raised in Carolina, and if any stop be put to its ex- 
portation, it will render them unable to pay their debts. Their 
memorial states that, from 1720 to 1729 — ten years — their 
export of rice was two hundred and sixty-four thousand four 
hundred and eighty-eight barrels ; or, forty -four thousand and 
eighty-one tons; from 1730 to 1739 — another ten years — the 
export was four hundred and ninety-nine thousand five hundred 
and twenty -five barrels ; or, ninety-nine thousand nine hundred 
and five tons ; and that, of this vast quantity, scarcely one fif- 
teenth part is consumed in Great Britain, or in the British 
dominions ; so that the fourteen parts are clear gain to the 
nation ; making the national gain, from rice, several times 
greater than that arising from sugar and tobacco ; since, of 
these articles, the greater quantity, made in the colonies, is 
consumed in the British dominions. The exports of rice, 
alone, in that very year (1740), are estimated at ninety thou- 
sand barrels, at twenty-five shillings sterling per barrel, mak- 
ing a value, in sterling money, of one hundred and ten thousand 
pounds, at home prices, and not including cost of freight, insur- 
ance, and commissions ; but, at final sale, in P^urope, being 
« 

1. What bill was brought into parliament, afifecting the colony ? 2. What was the 
remonstrance of the Carolinians ? S. What did they say of rice ? 4. What of its ex- 
port, at sundry periods ? 5. What proportion of this was consumed in Great Britain ? 
6. What was the value of this export, in sterling money? 



112 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

worth to (he nation two hundred and twenty thousand pounds; 
besides employing, annually, more than one hundred and sixty 
British ships, of one hundred tons each. From 1730 to 1740, 
the number of British vessels employed in the transportation of 
Carolina produce, had increased to two hundred and fifty-seven, 
showing a tonnage of sixteen thousand, and employing fifteen 
hundred British seamen. There was little trade with any for- 
eign ^plantations, and none with any part of Europe, but Brit- 
ain. 

This expose gives an interesting idea of the degree of pros- 
perity to which the colony had arrived at this time, and of v,hat 
importance she was to the British empire. 

Unhappily, there was no corresponding growth in the more 
important respects of morals, and education, and religion. For 
the first twenty-eight years of the settlement, divine service was 
rarely performed beyond the limits of Charlestown ; and, even 
there, in 1704, the Episcopalians had but one church, and the 
Dissenters three ; yet the former succeeded in obtaining a legal 
establishment of the Anglican church. The Dissenters strug- 
gled in vain, for years, to obtain the removal of their disabilities. 
In 1706, the colony was divided into ten parishes, and, subse- 
quently, into twenty-four, most of which were in the maritime 
districts, and none more than ninety miles from the sea-coast. 
At first, the Dissenters were excluded from the legislature ; but 
this law Vv'as soon repealed by the provincial assembly. In a 
minority of the people, the Episcopalians were compelled to be 
modest and if they, themselves, enjoyed a peculiar preference 
of government, they soon found it politic to accord toleration to 
all other sects. The people w^ere always jealous of ecclesiasti- 
cal domination. The laity had ecclesiastical jurisdiction, and 
could deprive ministers of their livings at pleasure. Governor 

7. What was the value to the nation? 8. What shipping did it employ, and what 
number of sailors? 9. Vrhat was the degree of trade done with other par's of Eu- 
rope, and other plantations ? 10. Did education and religion prosper in the same 
degree with agriculture and trade, in the province? 11. "What of the Episcopal 
church ? 12. How was the province divided, in 1706 — and subsequently ? IS. Where 
were these parishes located? 14. W'hat was the exclusion of the dissenters, at first ? 
15. What was the effect upon the Episcopalians, of their numerical inferiority ? 
IG. What was the peculiar jealousy of the people? 17. What jurisdiction was allowed 
the laitv ? 



FROM 1740 TO 1743. 11 



o 



Bull exercised the power of excommunication, equivalent to a 
sentence of outlawry, in a single instance, as late as 1765. 

In 1733, Alexander Garden was appointed, by the bishop 
of London, his commissary ; and, as such, to exercise spiritual 
and ecclesiastical jurisdiction, in North and South Carolina, 
Georgia, and New Providence. Garden, himself an able pul- 
pit preacher, and eminent man, came in collision with the cele- 
brated Whitfield, who, about this time, appeared in Carolina, 
gathering multitudes wherever he went. The aberrations of 
the latter, from the canons, were such that he was finally sus- 
pended, in 1740, from his office; but Whitfield was not to be 
suspended. For thirty years after he continued to preach, and 
always with the power to move the multitudes, even as the 
tempest sways the forest. 

The Dissenters increased in Carolina, by emigration from 
Scotland and Ireland — chiefly from the latter country; though 
they came, besides, from Germany and Holland, in considera- 
ble numbers. In 1685, the Baptists had formed a church, in 
Charlestown ; the Independents, in conjunction with Presby- 
terians, in 1690 ; and, by themselves, other churches, in several 
other parishes. There were few or no Roman Catholics, be- 
fore the Revolution, most of the Irish b.eing Presbyterian. 
They were not organized as a church, until 1791. The Meth- 
odists first appeai'ed in 1785, and camp-meetings began in 
1800. The revocation of the edict of Nantz, in 1685, brought 
great numbers of French protestants to Carolina. The Ger- 
man protestants began to build in Charlestown, in 1759. The 
Jews, with fresh privileges, had a synagogue in Charlestown, 
somewhere about 1750, v/ith several hundred members. With 
this diversity of population, toleration was inevitable ; and, with 
few and brief exceptions, the government of South Carolina 

IS. What ecclesiastical power did Governor Bull exercise ? 19. What appointment 
was made, in 1T33? 20. What of Alexander Garden? 21. What of Whitfield? 
22. When was he suspended ? 23. What was his popularity ? 24. From wliat sources 
did dissenters increase ? 25. When did the Baptists first-form a church ? 2(3. When 
the Independents and Presbyterians? 27. What of the Roman Catiiolics, and Irish ? 
28. Wlien did the former organize a church? 29. Wlien did the Methodists first ap- 
pear? 30. When were camp-meetings first held? 81. What was the effect of the 
revocation of the edict of Nantz? 32. When did the German Protestants begin to 
build ? 38. What of the Jews ? 34 What was the effect of this diversity of sects ? 



114 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

has accorded to all, of whatever denomination, equal privileges, 
equal securities for life, liberty, and property. 

For the first ninety-nine years of provincial Carolina, 
Charlestown was the source and centre of all judicial pro- 
ceedings. No courts were held beyond its limits, and as pop- 
ulation spread into the interior, justice became impossible. We 
shall see, hereafter, what was the result of this state of things, 
in the back country. Enough, that the absence of courts not 
only abridged the means, and baffled the hopes of justice, but 
cut off most of the means for popular education. This led to 
the wild justice which ensued, from the extempore courts of 
the regulators, who, necessarily, sprang into existence, as pop- 
ulation expanded beyond the centres of civilization. But, of 
these, things the details belong to future pages. 

We have shown that religion and law were not easily availa 
ble to the people. We may reasonably conclude that educa 
tion, and the opportunities for it, were quite as impossible of 
attainment. Of the arts, there were but two in exercise — the 
military and the agi-icultural ; and, in these, the Carolinians 
could report progress. In the military, perhaps, all that may 
be said, will simply recognise the courage and the capacity of 
the provincials to fight in their own defence. Military science 
was unknown. The arts of fortification were not requisite in. 
high degree, and any backwoodsman could co»ceive the plan of 
an adequate fortress against the red men; as riflemen and cavalry, 
the people were capable of becoming the best soldiers. They 
were accustomed to the constant use of w^eapons, to the horse, 
and their chief amusement was hunting. In the sports of the 
field, they acquired dexterity, vigilance, keenness, a quick sight, 
and a wiry muscle. Out of the towns, all were hunters and 
riflemen. In simple forest strategy, the rangers had become 
fully equal to the red men ; could practise all their arts, and, as 
if by instinct, resort to their use. In almost all cases, when 
fighting with British regulars, against the Indians, they had 

85. For how long was Charlestown the only seat of justice ? 36. What was the ef- 
fect of this limitation of justice to the one precinct ? 87. What the progress of reli- 
gion and law? 38. What were the arts whicli were in exercise and progress? 
89. What of ,he military ? 40. In what respects were the people of the country good 
Boldiers ? 



PROM 1740 TO 1743. 115 

taught the fdrmer, and, probably, saved them, scores of times, 
as they finally rescued the remains of Braddock's army. Their 
training, in these fields, was the secret of their wonderful suc- 
cesses, when, as partisans, under native leaders, they bajQfled, in 
the Revolution, all the generalship and regular forces of Britain. 

In agriculture, they had done wonders, though confining 
their enterprise and industry to favorite spots. But these were 
in unfavorable situations. The culture of rice they had, al- 
ready, carried to a degree of perfection, beyond that of the 
eastern nations, whence its seed had been borrowed. A little 
bag of rice, brought from Madagascar, in 1693, by a vessel, in 
distress, had been planted in the city garden of one of the land- 
graves. It grew well, and the little crop, when matured, was 
distributed among his friends. In fifty years from this seedling 
beginning, it had become the prime staple of the province, 
yielding an income of two hundred thousand pounds. And, 
about this period, the people were beginning the cultivation of 
another commodity — indigo — which was destined, for a time, 
to become a staple, also. Silk, the mulberry, the native grape, 
the olive, the orange, hemp, flax, tobacco, madder — all had re- 
ceived more or less of the agricultural care of the provincials.' 
The princess-dowager of Wales, and the earl of Chesterfield, 
wore, in 1756, garments made of the silk of Carolina. In re- 
gard to maize, or Indian corn, the colonists had improved so 
largely upon the first proprietors — the red men — that the lat- 
ter but too commonly looked to the cornfields of the whites, 
planting none of their own. There were many experiments 
in progress, even as far back as 1745, in numerous objects of 
culture, which only did not mature, as superseded by successive 
staples, rice, indigo, tobacco, and, lastly, and more potent con- 
queror than all — cotton. 

A few paragraphs may be given to the fiscal history and 
the financial condition of the province, from the beginning to 
our present date. For the first twelve years of the colony, 
there were no taxes. In 1682, an act of the legislature raised 

41. What had the people done in agriculture? 42. What productions had shared 
their attention ? 43. What were the successive staples ? 44. What was the taxation 
for the first twelve years ? 



116 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

four hundred pounds, by taxation, for defraying public charges. 
In the first thirty-two years of the colony, the highest sum 
raised was eight hundred pounds ; and, during ail this period, 
the sum total of taxation did not exceed two thousand four 
hundred pounds. In 1691, a duty was laid on skins and furs, 
then the principal exports, and, for ten years, this duty sufficed 
for the public exigencies. In 1702, to prepare for the expedi- 
tion against St. Augustine, two thousand pounds were levied; 
and, as this proved inadequate, two thousand pounds more was 
raised in each of the years following. In 1708, an act was 
passed for raising five thousand pounds ; in 1710, for three 
thousand pounds ; in 1713, for four thousand pounds. In 1714, 
a duty was laid on all negro slaves imported. In 1715, there 
was an act for raising thirty thousand pounds from real and 
personal propert3\ In 1716, an act for raising fifty-five thou- 
sand pounds, and thirty thousand for each of the years follow- 
ing. Of these taxes, one thousand six hundred pounds were 
apportioned among the merchants and inhabitants of Charles- 
town— the first tax to which they were expressly subjected. 
In 1719, the sum of seventy thousand pounds was raised on 
lands and negroes. This augmentation of taxation was due, 
not to the increasing prosperity of the province, nor to the in- 
creased value of its territory and property, but, rather, to the 
reverse. It ^vas the result of its disasters ; to its various mili- 
tary expeditions ; the invasions by French and Spaniard; ex- 
pedition against the Tuscaroras ; war with the Yemassees, and 
with the pirates; all of which events occurred between 1701 
and 1719. In 1712, the enormous sum of fifty-two thousand 
pounds w'as issued in bills of credit, and loaned out to the in- 
habitants, increasing their extravagances, raising the value of 
property, and depreciating the currency. As a British prov- 
ince, Carolina nominally employed a British currency ; but 
very little British money was in circulation in any of the colo- 
nies. Most of their gold or silver coin was foreign — Spanish, 

45. What, for the first thirty-two years, was the highest tax? 46. What duty was 
laid, in 1691, and how long did it sulfice ? 47. What subsequent taxes were laid? 
4S. To what was the great augmentation of taxes due, in 1719? 49. W^hat was tbo 
chief financial act of 1712 ? 50. What coins were in circulation V 



FIlOx^I 1740 TO 1743. 117 

French, Portuguese, etc. British laws, regulating the value 
of the coin, were little regarded, vvhere the demand for coin 
was so urgent. In Carolina, finally, paper had so depreciated, 
in process of time, that ten dollars currency were required to 
meet the demand for one sterling. The royal government 
unwisely repeated the error of the proprietary, in this respect; 
bills of credit continued to be issued. Governor Nicholson, in 
1722, gave his assent to an emission of forty thousand pounds; 
and the people clamored for more. Parties for and against 
the measure, stniggling so fiercely, as, between the years 1727 
and 1731, almost to defeat legislation — the king's council re- 
fusing farther emissions, while the House of Commons refused 
their concurrence in all other measures. 

The latter prevailed, in 1736, so as to issue two hundred 
and ten thousand pounds more, to be loaned out at 8 per cent. 
It was in vain that Arthur Middleton, president, and Kinloch 
and Wragg, members of council, vehemently opposed it. They 
have left their protest, with the arguments influencing them, 
upon the records. The consequences of these wild emissions 
of paper, without the proper money basis, were its unsteadiness 
of value, its ultimate loss of value; and, the various injuries to 
capital, credit, and social stability, which usually follow upon 
the expansions of a bank in a speculative temper of the com- 
munity. 

The commerce of South Carolina had a noble origin. Its 
first merchants were the lords-proprietors themselves. They 
established lines of shipping between Great Britain and 
Charlestown, and between the latter and the several provinces 
of Virginia, and the British West India islands, and, especially, 
Barbadoes. And this, without contemplating mercantile profit, 
but to encourage emigration and provide supplies to the colo- 
nists. We have, elsewhere, shown what were the exports and 
imports of the province to the date of the present chapter. In 
1740, ship-building was begun, and five ship-yards were erected ; 

51. What was the result, finally, of the excess of paper money? 52. What act re- 
ceived Nicholson's assent, in 1722? 53. Who protested against it? 54. What was 
the origin of commerce, in South Carolina, and who were its first merchants ? 53. When 
was ahip-buildins begun, and where ? 



118 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

one in Charlestown, three in its vicinity, and one at Beaufort ; 
and, from these, between 1740 and 1776, twenty-four square 
rigged vessels, besides sloops and schooners, were launched 
successfully. The Revolution reduced all enterprises, for a 
time, to ruins. 

But, we must not anticipate. Enough, perhaps, has been 
shown, in this summary, to indicate the progress, the condition, 
and the resources of the province, down to a certain and turn- 
ing period in its fortunes. Events are now maturing for more 
important struggles, and a career of more imposing state, as 
well as dangers, for our infant province. 

56. What number of ships, sloops, and schooners, were built, between 1740 and 
1TT6? 



FROM 1743 TO 1756. 119 



CHAPTER IV. 

FROM 1743 TO 1756 — WAR WITH THE CHEROKEES. 

Governor Glenn assumed the chair of state in 1743. This 
gentleman has left us a useful narrative and statistical report of 
the colony to the close of his adnjinistration, which continued 
till 1756, and from which the historian derives many of his most 
important facts during this interval. It was during his career 
that Charlestown, twelve years after the great fire, was nearly 
destroyed by a hurricane (1752). Thedevoted city was only saved 
from being utterly swallowed up in the seas by a providential 
change of wind. The waters of the gulf-stream, which had been 
driven by the blast upon the shores, were permitted rapidly to 
retire into their accustomed channels. Within ten minutes after 
the wind had shifted, the water fell five feet. But for this merci- 
ful dispensation, every inhabitant of Charlestown might have 
perished. As the event was, many were drowned — many more 
hurt or endangered ; the wharves and fortifications were demol- 
ished ; the crops growing in the fields were destroyed ; vast num- 
bers of cattle perished, and the trees and gardens of the town 
were ruined. The city emerged from the waters a universal 
wreck, which it required a long time of prosperity to repair. 

This event, as a matter of course, seriously retarded the 
growth of the city. Meanwhile, however, population had been 
gradually extending itself into the interior, from the commence- 
ment of Bull's administration in 1737, so as to plant settlements 
in numerous places, though still remote from each other in that 
belt, near the seaboard, which is called the middle country, from 
seventy to one hundred miles westward from the coast. At an 
earlier period there was a fort upon the Congaree, and this 

1. When did James Glenn assume the reins of government ? 2. What has he left 
us? 3. What happened in Charlestown during his administration ? 4. What saved 
the city ? 5. What was the injury to the city? 6. How ■w's population extending? 



120 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

implied the germ of a settlement. In 1737, Orangeburg had 
a few settlers, and, gradually, the farmers and graziers, passing 
still farther upward, planted seeds of colonies along the margin 
of the upper belt of the province. In 1750, there were small 
settlements two hundred miles from Charlestown, chiefly of emi- 
grants from Virginia and Pennsylvania, who had crossed the 
barriers of the Blue Ridge or Apalacliian mountains. Colonel 
Clarke, with a party of Virginians, settled in that year on the 
Pacolet. Other parties subsequently, joined him, dotting wdth 
civilization the forests along the Fair Forest and Tiger 
rivers. A few other parties, here and there, with these consti- 
tuted the only white settlements of the back country until 
1755, the year when Braddock was defeated. This lam- 
entable event, by which the frontiers of Pennsylvania, Vir- 
ginia, and Maryland, were laid open to the war j^arties of the 
red men and the French, impelled the terrified bordl!i*ers of the 
colonies to turn their eyes in the direction of South Carolina; 
and in this year Governor Glenn, having succeeded in effecting 
a treaty with the Cherokees which ceded to Great Britain a 
large portion of the upper country, served greatly to allure set- 
tlers to the western parts of the province. In 1756, Patrick 
Calhoun, with four families, planted himself in Abbeville, in 
the southwestern extremity of this region. Here he found that 
two other settlers had preceded him. Until 1756, however, the 
progress of colonization was so very slow in this renaote quar- 
ter, that the wdiole number of families scarcely ^'iexceeded 
twenty-five. But, for the two years which followed, ^le influx 
of inhabitants, especially from the provinces mentioned, was very 
considerable. 

While war raged in these provinces, Carolina, from 
her timely treaty with the Cherokees, remained at peace. 
The Cherokees were tlie allies of the British, and had sent 
their warriors to fight with those of Britain against the French 

7. How did population spread in 1750 ? 8. Whence did tiie new settlers come ? 
9. "Where did they settle ? 10. What was the effect upon South Carolina of Braddock's 
defeat? 11. What treaty did Governor Glenn make in 1755 '! — and what cession did 
be obtain ? 12. In 1756, who were the settlers, and where ? 13. What condition did 
Carolina enjoy during this period ? 14. With whom were the Cherokees in alii • 
RQce ? — where and against whom ? « 



FROM 1743 TO 1756. 121 

invaders on the Ohio. But this was all to change in 1758, 
when Fort Duquesne was reduced. 

Meanwhile, according to Glenn, indigo had been a profitable 
staple production in the low and middle country, sharino- the 
public favor with rice. In 1747, the lohite population of these 
two sections had grown to twenty-five thousand, of which five 
thousand were capable of bearing arms. The negroes, how- 
ever, had diminished to thirty-nine thousand. The increase of 
the whites was chiefly from Germany and the British colonies. 
The diminution of the negroes was due to removals of slaves 
into Georgia, which had adopted negro slavery, and had only 
begun to flourish after it did so, and to the fact that the heavy 
duties on the importation of slaves amounted, at this period, 
to a prohibition. 

In the same year (1747), a terrible frost destroyed all the 
orange and olive trees along the seaboard. The former had been 
found greatly to flourish in previous seasons; the latter had 
so prospered that a single tree was found to yield several bush- 
els of fruit, and this originally from a single stick, lopped at both 
ends, brought from Fayal, and stuck in a garden-spot in Caro- 
lina. So severe was the winter, that the very birds perished 
of the cold. 

Britain and British shipping still enjoyed a monopoly of the 
trade and commerce of the province. Charlestown, Port Royal 
and Winyah, or Georgetown, had each its collector now ; the 
former, for some years before. There was little or no illegal 
trading — by sea, at least. The trade, with the red men of the 
interior, was large enough and loose enough, perhaps, to cover 
a thousand illegal practices. The Indian traders of Carolina 
carried their packs — nay, the arms of the colony — to the Mis- 
sissippi, and strove in battle with the French, while they traded 
with the red men, with whom they not unfrequently lost scalps 
as well as packs. The French had subsidized the Choctaws. 

15. What is said of Indigo ? 16. What were the white and negro populations of South 
Carolina in 1747 ? 17. To what were the increase of the one and decrease of the 
other respectively due ? 18. What injurious event occurred in 1747 ? 19. What is said 
of the orange and the olive ? 20. What of the commerce of South Carolina ? 21. 
Where were the ports of entry ? 22. What is said of the trade ? 23. What of the In- 
dian traders '^ 24 AVhat of the French and Choctaws ? 

G 



122 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

But in 1748, and for several years after, the administration of 
Governor Glenn remained undisturbed from any quarter. Some 
predatory parties of red men, generally fugitives or outlaws from 
scattered tribes, found their way into the settlements of the 
the lower country, and committed horrid depredations. In 
1751, flying parties of these marauders plundered the plantations 
along the Santee and at the head of Cooper river. A party, in 
the same year, was dispersed with loss, near the seaside, in 
Christ church parish ; and a successful foray into Beaufort, from 
which some women and children were carried off, was ascribed 
to the Cherokees, but was more probably due to the Spanish 
Indians. In 1753, some of this same fugitive class of red men, 
mere marauders, committed their depredations w^ithin forty miles 
of the city. But for such parties the nation no more held it- 
self responsible than do those more civihzed states, from whence 
flibustering parties go forth on adventures of their own. 

With these insignificant exceptions. South Carolina was suf- 
fered for several years, and during the greater part of Glenn's 
administration, the enjoyment of repose. The red men, as 
peoples, had receded farther from the settlements. As already 
mentioned, in part, the Cherokees, in 1755, renewed their treaty 
of peace with the Carolinians, and accompanied this act by the 
cession of a large territory, including what are now the districts 
of Greenville, Pendleton, and portions of other districts. In 
the general state of security, following this condition of the 
province, the measures of war were relaxed. The armed gal- 
leys and scout-boats of the seaboard were abandoned ; even the 
rangers of the frontier were disbanded, and an immense cost in 
money was saved to the province. There were no taxes on 
real or personal property ; all the expenses of the government 
were amply met by duties raised upon exports or imports. 

In respect to agriculture, the results of peace were wonder- 
ful. In 1745, the exports of indigo, which had grown to be a 
staple, reached £200,000. In 1757, of raw silk, ten thousand 

25. "What of Glenn's administration in 1748, and subsequently ? 26. From what 
disturbances did the colony suffer, and in what quarter? 27. "What happened in 
1753? 28. What was the condition of South Carolina? 29. What districts were 
formed out of the ceded territories ? 30. From what was the revenue derived ? 31. 
What were the exports of indigo in 1745 ? 



WAR WITH THE CHEROKEES. 123 

pounds weight were exported through Savannah from the Swiss 
settlement at Purysburg, on that river. In 1754, the exports of 
the province had risen to the enormous sum of £242,529. But 
a more important item still, as illustrated by a subsequent his- 
tory, may be found in the fact that, in the same year (1754), 
cotton, now the pacificator of states and nations, was also 
exported, though in very small quantities. It continued to be 
grown and used for domestic purposes, and, mixed with wool, 
constituted a frequent article of clothing in the state during the 
war of the Revolution. 

Governor Glenn, soon after the cession of lands from the 
Cherokees, proceeded to fortify in several places in the ceded ter- 
ritory. He built, among other forts, one upon the banks of the 
Savannah, and within gunshot of the Indian town of Keowee. 
It contained barracks for a hundred men, was built in the form 
of a square, had an earthen rampart six feet high, on which 
stockades were fixed, with a ditch, a natural glacis on two sides, 
and bastions at the angles, on each of which four small cannon 
were mounted. 

On the banks of the same river, about one hundred and sev- 
enty miles below, another fort was raised, called Fort Moore, 
in a beautiful and commanding situation. 

Another, called Loudon, was built on the Tennessee, upward 
of five hundred miles from Charlestown. These strong holds 
were garrisoned by regular troops from Britain ; and the estab- 
lishment of these defences in the interior led to the rapid accu- 
mulation of settlers in all the choice places in their neighbor- 
hood. They were each to be distinguished by a tragic history. 

In the year 1756, William H. Lyttleton, afterward Lord 
Westcott, was made governor of CaroHna. The year after this 
event, a large party of Cherokee Indians, who had been serv- 
ing in the armies of great Britain against the French in the 
west, and had assisted in the conquest of the famous Fort Du- 

32. What of raw silk in 1757 ? 83. What of the total exports of the province in 
1754? 34. When was cotton first exported from South Carolina? 35. How- was it 
used at home ? 36. Where did Governor Glenn fortify ? 37. Where was Fort Prince 
George, and how described ? 38. What other forts upon the same river ? 39. What 
upon the Tennessee ? 40. How were these forts garrisoned ? 41. Who became gov- 
ernor in 1756 ? 



124 HISTORY OP SOUTH CAROLINA. 

quesne, returning from the wars to their homes, took possession 
of a number of horses belonging to the whites as they passed 
through the back parts of Virginia. 

The Virginians rashly resented the robbery by violence ; 
they killed a number of the warriors, and took several prisoners. 

This aggression kindled the flames of war among the injured 
people, who commenced the work of reprisal by scalping the 
whites wherever they were found. Parties of the young war- 
riors rushed down upon the frontier settlements, and the work 
of massacre became general along the borders of Carolina. 

The Carolinians gathered in arms, and, when the chiefs of 
the Cherokees became aware of the fact, they sent a deputation 
to Charlestown to disarm the anger of the people by a timely 
reconciliation. 

Unhappily, Governor Lyttleton, who was an ostentatious 
and not a wise governor, treated these messengers with indig- 
nity, and finally made them prisoners. Having resolved upon 
a military expedition, he refused to listen to their orator, but 
proceeded with all his force — the chiefs being under guard — 
to liis rendezvous on Congaree river, where he mustered four- 
teen hundred men. 

The Cherokees, burning witli indignation at this treatment, 
were yet subtle enough to suppress the show of it. They 
agreed to such terms as Lyttleton proposed — gave up twenty- 
two out of twenty-four hostages which he demanded, to be kept 
till the young warriors who had committed the murders upon 
the Carolinians should be secured and delivered — and renewed 
their pledges of peace and alliance. 

But he had scarcely returned to the capital when he received 
the news of the murder of fourteen whites within a mile of 
Fort George. A Lieutenant or Captain Cotymore — colonel, 
possibly, as in an independent command — had been left in 
char<re of that fortress. To this officer the Indians had taken 

42. What about the Cherokees in 1757? 43. What did the Virginians? 44. How 
did their violence aflTect the Cherokees ? 45. What was their action ? 46. What did 
the Carolinians? 47. How did the Cherokees endeavor to disarm their anger? 48. 
What was the error of Governor Lyttleton ? 49. What were his subsequent move- 
ments? 50. What policy did the Cherokees adopt? 51. What treaty was made? 
52. How kept? 53. Who had charge of Fort George ? 



WAR WITH THE CHEROKEES. 125 

an unconquerable aversion. Occonostota, a chief of great influ- 
ence, had also, for reasons not now known, become a most im- 
placable enemy of the Carolinians, and proposed to himself the 
task of taking Prince George. 

Having gathered a strong force of Cherokees, he surrounded 
it ; but finding that he could make no impression on the works, 
nor alarm the commander, he had recourse to stratagem to 
effect his object. He placed a select body of savages in a dark 
thicket by the river side, and sent an Indian woman, who was 
always received with favor at the garrison, to tell Cotymore 
that he wished to see him at the river, where he had something 
of consequence to communicate. 

Cotymore, accompanied by his two lieutenants. Bell and Fos- 
ter, imprudently consented. When he reached the river, Occo- 
nostota appeared on the opposite side, having in his hand a bri- 
dle. He told Cotymore that he was on his way to Charlestown 
to procure a release of the prisoners, and would be glad of a 
white man to go with him as a safeguard, adding that he was 
about to hunt for a horse for the journey. 

Cotymore told him that he should have a guard ; and, while 
they parleyed, Occonostota thrice waved the bridle over his 
head. This signal to the savages in ambush, for such it was, 
proved fatal to the three officers, who were instantly shot down. 
Cotymore was mortally wounded, and soon after died. 

In consequence of this deed, the garrison proceeded to put in 
irons the twenty hostages that had been left with them. They 
resisted the attempt, and stabbed three of the men who en- 
deavored to put the manacles on them. The garrison, in the 
highest degree exasperated, fell upon them in a fury, and 
butchered them to a man. The whole affair was wretchedly 
unfortunate. Some excuses have been found, or fancied, for 
this massacre ; but these are mostly after-thoughts, and value- 
less. It was a massacre at once brutal and impolitic. 

The catastrophe maddened the whole nation. There were 
few Cherokee families that did not lose a friend or relative in 

54. Who was Occonostota? 55. What did he undertake? 56. To what stratagem 
did he resort ? 57. What error did Cotymore commit? 58. What was his fate ? 59. 
What did the garrison do ? 60. How is the affair described ? 61. What was the ef- 
fect upon the nation ? 



126 HISTORY OP SOUTH CAROLINA. 

this massacre, and with one voice they declared for battle. They 
seized the hatchet, and sinsfinn; their sono-s of war, and burning 
with indignation for revenge, they rushed down — a reckless 
and countless horde — upon the frontiers of Carolina. 

Men, women, and children, without discrimination, fell vic- 
tims to their merciless fury ; and, to add to the misfortunes of 
the borderers, Charlestown, laboring under the presence of that 
dreadful scourge, the small-pox, was too feeble to send them 
succor. 

What could be done, however, was done. Seven troops of 
rangers were furnished by Virginia and North Carolina ; and a 
British force under the command of Colonel Montgomery, after- 
ward earl of Eglintoun, was sent by General Amherst, the com- 
mander-in-chief in America at that time, to the relief of the 
province. 

Montgomery chastised the Cherokees in several severe en- 
gagements, in which they lost large numbers of their warriors ; 
but without humbling them to submission. He was compelled 
to return to New York, leaving his work unfinished. 

In the meantime, the distant garrison of Fort Loudon, on the 
Tennessee river, consisting of two hundred men, was reduced 
by famine. The Virginians had undertaken to relieve it, but 
failed to do so ; and the miserable occupants were reduced 
to the necessity of submitting to the mercy of the Chero- 
kees. 

Captain Stuart, an officer of great sagacity and address, to 
whom the post had been entrusted, succeeded in obtaining good 
terms of safety, upon which he capitulated. By these terms 
the garrison were permitted to march out with their arras and 
drums, as much ammunition as was necessary on their march, 
and such baggage as they might choose to carry. The Indians 
were to take the lame and wounded soldiers into their towns, 
provide as many horses as they could for the garrison, furnish 
guides, and an escort which was to protect them ; for all of 
which they were to be paid according to certain estimates, which 

62. What atrocities did the Cherokees commit? 63. What were the forces raised 
against them, and to whom confided ? 64. What did Montgomery ? 65. What of Fort 
Loudon ? 



WAR WITH THE CHEROKEES. 127 

were understood among them. The fort, cannon, powder, and 
ball, were delivered up to the Indians. 

The capitulation took effect, and the garrison had proceeded 
fifteen miles upon their march, when they were deserted by 
their guides and -escort, beset by a large body of savages, and, 
though fighting gallantly, were overcome. Twenty-six men 
fell at the first fire — a few escaped by flight — while Stuart, 
the commander, with many others, was carried into captivity. 

Stuart, through the friendship of one of their chiefs, finally 
escaped, after many hardships, into Virginia ; but the rest of 
the prisoners were kept in a miserable captivity for some time, 
and redeemed at last only at great expense. 

Though the Cherokees had suffered severely from the meas- 
ures of Montgomery, they were not yet disposed for peace. 
The French maintained emissaries among them, who continually 
fomented the appetite for war. " I am for war !" cried Salooe, 
a young warrior of Estatoe, in a council where an agent of 
France had been busy to make them discountenance the efforts 
of some of their own chiefs, who labored in the cause of peace: 
" I am still for war ! The spirits of our brothers call upon us 
to avenge their death. He is a woman who will not follow 
me !" 

The savages, moved by his wild eloquence, seized the toma- 
hawk again, and the war was renewed in all its former fury. 

66. What was the fate of its garrison ? 67. What became of Stuart ? 68. Were the 
Cherokees humbled? 69. How was their hostility fomented? 70. What was the 
language of Salooe, the young warrior of Estatoe ? 71. What was the effect of his 
wild eloquence ? 



128 HISTORY OP SOUTH CAROLINA. 



CHAPTER V. 

FROM 1756 TO 1764. 

The terrors of an Indian war roused the Carolinians to the 
most strenuous efforts to meet the emergency on the thresh- 
old, and to anticipate the forays of the red men, by carrying 
their arms into the enemy's country. But this was no easy 
matter. It involved the sacrifice of vast sums of money ; the 
loss of time consequent upon the embodiment of troops to be 
brought from remote distances ; the passage through great wil- 
dernesses, which, as yet, offered no openings for transportation 
of provisions, or artillery, and in every fastness of which might 
lurk an overpowering ambush. And, in the meantime, what 
massacres were to dye the frontier settlements in blood, and lay 
waste their habitations. But, facing these dangers and discour- 
agements boldly, the authorities of South Carolina proceeded 
to work with the vigor which became a martial people. A 
provincial regiment was raised, the command of which was 
given to Colonel Middleton. He was admirably seconded 
by lieutenants, who were destined, in this campaign, to lay the 
foundations of great reputations, which were to rise during an- 
other war, at a much later period, to which this contest of the 
red men was, comparatively, a play at soldiers, rather than a 
sanguinary conflict. Among the field officers, in this provincial 
regiment, we find the names of Henry Laurens, William Moul- 
trie, Francis Marion, Isaac Huger, and Andrew Pickens ; all 
of whom subsequently became greatly distinguished, at once, in 
the annals of the state, and of the confederacy. It was during 
this expedition that they commenced that admirable course of 

1. How did the prospect of the Cherokee war affect the Carolinians? 2. What 
preparations did they malce ? 3. What were their embarrassments ? 4. What force 
did they raise, and by whom commanded? 5. What field-officers accompanied Mid- 
dleton ? 



FROM 1756 TO 1764. 129 

training which prf^pared them for the more arduous trials, and 
the prolonged conflicts of the Revolution, the thunders of which 
were already muttering in the sky, though audible, perhaps, 
only to the keener senses of the sagacious few. 

But, the war with the Cherokees was not allowed to fall 
wholly upon provincial shoulders. The British government, 
since it had taken the place of the proprietary, had never with- 
held from the colony that nursing care and protection which its 
infancy demanded. Whatever the offences of Great Britain, 
under either of the Georges, in respect to their usurpation or 
abuse of power, it is to their credit that they rarely showed re- 
missness or indifference, when the safety of the province was 
threatened by the enemy, or when it needed succor for its abso- 
lute maintenance. On this occasion, the native regiment was 
supported by a large body of regular troops, under Colonel 
James Grant, who reached Charlestown early in 1761, and pro- 
ceeded to the rendezvous with the provincials. With a small 
auxiliary force of red warriors, from the friendly tribes, the lit- 
tle army numbered in all some twenty-six hundred men, all of 
whom were under the general authority of Colonel Grant. 

It was soon put under marching orders, and, on the twenty- 
seventh of May, 1761, had reached Fort Prince George, the 
scene of Cotymore's massacre. Here, the long-tried friend of 
the Carolinians, Attakullakulla, hastened to the camp of the 
whites, filled with grief, and sought, by prayers and promises, 
to avert the blow from his nation. But, as Grant and Middle- 
ton well knew that however much the old chief might be a fa- 
vorite with his people, he had no influence sufficient to arrest 
the young ones — the red sticks — in their vindictive moods 
and sanguinary appetites. Attakullakulla received no encour- 
agement, and the army steadily marched on ; a scouting party 
being sent forward, under Captain Kennedy, of ninety Indians, 
with thirty white men, painted and habited like the red war- 
riors. Another body of two hundred, rangers and light in- 

6. "What did the British government to assist the Carolinians? 7. By whom were 
the British regulars commanded ? 8. When did the forces reach Charlestown ? 
9. When did they reach Prince George ? 10. By what chief were they met ? 11. With 
what precautions did Grant and Middleton proceed ? 12. Who led their advanced 
scouting party ? 

6* 



180 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

fantry, followed in support ; and these scoured the thickets and 
defiles, in regions which might well have been chosen for fatal 
ambuscades. As they advanced, in this order, and with becom- 
ing circumspection, " the Indian sign " became abundant, and it 
was soon apparent that the conflict was at hand. At length, 
about the twelfth of June, the Cherokees encountered the Eng- 
lish and Carolinians, near the town of Etchoe, very near the 
spot which had been signalized in the previous campaign, by 
their conflict with Montgomery, They were posted in force 
along a hill, on the right flank of the arrtly, and beside which 
it was compelled to pass. The Cherokees, with great fury, 
rushed down upon the advanced guard, pouring in the most 
d(istructive fire as they came, and fearlessly, and with wild 
shouts, darting forward to the close combat of knife and toma- 
hawk. The advance guard held its ground firmly, and, being 
promptly supported, succeeded in repelling the assailants. They 
recovered their heights as rapidly as they had descended, and 
the conflict became general in the effort to dislodge them. This 
was necessary, indeed, to the progress of the army — the only 
route lying directly beneath the heights of which they were in 
possession ; while, on the other hand, lay the course of a river, 
from the banks and thickets of which another body of the In- 
dians maintained an incessant fire, as the army continued to 
advance. To escape either of these fires, it was necessary to 
silence one of them ; and, while the party, covering the hill, 
were assailed by one division of the Carolinians, in front, an- 
other division maintained the conflict with the river party. 
The engagement, thus begun, constituted two actions, separate 
in their progress, though mutual in object and result. It was 
waged by the Cherokees with the greatest obstinacy. They 
were advantageously posted, in both situations, well covered 
by the forest thickets, which, along the river, were dense, and 
almost impervious ; they were familiar with the ground, and all 
its covers, and all its defiles ; could recede, without difficulty, 
from pressure, and re-advance to the conflict as soon as the 
pressure was withdrawn. Under these circumstances, the issue, 

13. Where, and when, did Uiey meet the Cherokees? 14. How were the Cherokees 
posted ? 15. In what order were they assailed ? IG. How did they flght? 



FROM 1756 TO 1764. 131 

for three, hours of mortal struggle, was doubtful, in high degree. 
The whites were not in the best condition for such a combat. 
They had suddenly come upon the foe, and though guarded 
against surprise, they could use no military skill in the choice 
of ground. The battle had been forced upon them, in a position 
chosen by the savage. They were fatigued by a dreary and 
long march, in wet weather, and totally ignorant of the scene 
of action ; so completely surrounded by the forests, that sight 
could penetrate in no direction, and galled, on every side, by 
fires from an invisible enemy, against whom they could only 
oppose perpetual charges and a random fire ; and these charges 
usually found a flying foe, whose alertness, in his native thickets 
baffled pursuit, and found a ready and contiguous shelter, from 
which he could emerge, at any moment, and promptly renew 
the exhausting conflict. But, the stout rangers had fearless 
hearts, and knew the merits of bush-fighting, in general ; the 
British regulars held their ground with bull-dog tenacity, and 
plied their bayonets with a rapidity which admirably seconded 
the irregular warfare of the provincials. The auxiliary Indians 
of the army, were brave experts, who answered the yells of the 
Cherokees in their own style, and met them with like strata- 
gem ; and, the result was the victory of the Carolinians, after 
one of the fiercest battles with the red men on the records of 
America. At the end of three hours, the Cherokees were 
driven from the field ; from their hill and river fastnesses, 
equally, and, though dropping shots continually encountered 
their advance, for three hours longer, yet the battle array, the 
hope and spirit of the enemy were broken. The persevering 
valor of the whites, their better weapons, and science — such 
as might be displayed in such a field — triumphed, finally and 
entirely, over the fierce, wild warriors of the forest. But, they 
fled fighting — grimly delivering their fires from every shelter 
in their retreat. They were not again suffered to re-unite in 
force ; were pressed, in the flight, with an energy that never 
gave them leisure to make a stand, or renew the conflict. 

17. In what condition were the wliites ? 18. How did the provincials and British 
respectively behave themselves? 19. The red auxiliaries of the wliites? 20. What 
was the resxilt of the battle ? 



132 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

Their loss in the action is unknown ; that of tlie Carolinian 
army was fifty or sixty killed and wounded. The slain were 
not buried, but sunk in the river, that their bodies might not 
be exposed to the mutilations of the savage. 

This victory opened the way to the nation. The Cherokees 
were broken in spirit, and did not seek to re-organize. The 
army advanced upon Etchoe, one of their largest towns, w^hich 
was reduced to ashes. The towns, in their middle settlements, 
shared the same fate. Their granaries and cornfields, the corn 
still growing, were likewise destroyed ; the necessity being evi- 
dent that to bring them to subjection, and curb their ferocious 
spirit, it was necessary to drive them to the refuge of deeper 
forests, and deprive them of the means of support in their set- 
tlements. This terrible measure, the fruit of a paramount ne- 
cessity, was of fatal consequences to the feebler portions of 
their tribes. Their miserable families were driven to the dis- 
mal shelter of barren mountains, which could yield them no- 
thing but a shelter. They are said to have perished in large 
numbers. The name of Grant, who was the leader of this 
army, grew, in time, to be a proverbial word, signifying " de- 
vastation," among the red men. For years after, when they 
discovered the cattle in their corn-fields, they drove them out 
with wild yells of " Grant ! Grant !" 

But, while the whites remained among them, they offered no 
farther defense of corn-field or habitation. They had fought a 
pitched battle, on their own ground, with determined valor. It 
is conjectured that they had been posted and counselled by 
certain experienced French officers, who were among them. 
But, even these failed to rouse them to a renewal of the strug- 
gle. They were completely overcome ; the native-spirit was 
subdued ; they looked down from their hill-tops, with the supine- 
ness of despair, upon the flames which swallowed up their ham- 
lets, and the devastation which laid waste their fields. They 



21. How many of the whites were slain or wounded ? 22. Upon what town did the 
whites then advance, and burn? 23. What was their farther progress, and what 
tlieir performance? 24. What was the effect upon the families of the Cherokees? 
25. How did they use the name of Grant? 20. Did the Cherokees continue the war? 
27. By what European officers are tliey supposed to have been led ? 



FROM 1756 TO 1764. 133 

humbly sued for peace. The good old, friendly chief, Attakul- 
lakulla, was now permitted to seek and make terms with the 
Carolinians. He proceeded to Charlestown, and, addressing 
Governor Bull, he asked once more for mercy, on indulgent 
terms. 

" I am come," said the venerable chief, " to see what can be 
done for my people. They are in great distress. As to what 
has taken place, forgive us. I believe it has been decreed by 
the Great Master, who is above. He is father of red men and 
white. We all live in one land — let us live as one people." 

Governor Bull, a prudent, and moderate statesman, was dis- 
posed to be indulgent. He satisfied himself that the spirit of the 
Cherokees was sufficiently humbled. The prayer of the aged 
chief was granted ; a peace was made between the parties, and 
the end of this savage war, which was supposed to have had 
its origin in the machinations of French emissaries, was among 
the last humbling blows given by the joint valor of the provin- 
cials and Britain, to the power of France in North America. 

The Cherokees, though humbled, were not subdued. They 
harbored, in their hearts, spite of the influence of their chief, 
spite of their seeming submission, an eager spirit of revenge, 
which, not many years afterward, found its fierce expression 
against the Carolinians, when Britain, in her anger with the 
colonies, adopted the old expedients of French and Spaniard, 
and set the savage warriors to work, with fire and tomahawk, 
upon the frontier settlements. The Cherokees could still bring 
two thousand warriors into the field. The machinations of 
Britain soon found them willing. But this belongs to future 
pages. 

This campaign of Grant and Middleton, so creditable to the 
valor of all concerned in it, was followed by an unhappy differ- 
ence between the commanders of the regular and provincial 
forces. Colonel Grant seems to have been a person of haughty 
and arrogant temper. He is, we believe, the same Colonel 
Grant, who, in the British parliament, affirmed that, with three 

28. Did they entreat peace, and by whom ? 29. Were they forgiven, and by Avhom ? 
80. Were they really subdued, or secretly resentful ? 81. AVhat force could they still 
bring intc the flpld ? ^1 What is said of Colonel Grant ? 



134 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

regiments, he could march through all America. He was dis- 
tinguished by all that insolent spirit of superiority, which was 
so apt to distinguish the conduct of officers of the mother-coun- 
try in their treatment of the provincials ; a signal instance of 
which exhibited itself, not long before, in a neighboring colony, 
in the deportment of the depraved and arrogant Braddock tow- 
ard the modest provincial, Washington. This mood of assump- 
tion is, probably, characteristic everywhere, in the deportment 
of the regular toward the militia service. 

In its indulgence, Grant, after he reached Charlestown, gave 
offence to Colonel Middleton, his associate in the command of 
the forces. Middleton was one of the first persons in the col- 
ony. His family had always been distinguished by its conduct, 
and by its influence. He was a gentleman as tenacious of the 
honor of the province as of his own position. Grant, it seems, 
had, during the Cherokee expedition, displayed a most offensive 
indifference to all the suggestions of the provincial officers ; en- 
acting, in brief, the character of Braddock, so far as this ignored 
the proper consideration of the provincials. They were not 
held to be authority in military operations, even though these 
were conducted in their own country, and in a war so anoma- 
lous as that with the red men. 

To this offence he added by claiming the chief credit for him- 
self and regulars, of having subdued the Cherokees. There 
may have been some direct, as there was certainly much tacit 
disparagement of the provincials, in this assumption. 

The claim was resisted and resented by Middleton, with 
promptitude and spirit. A controversy ensued, the result of 
which was, according to one of our authorities, that Middleton 
caned Grant, on Vendue Range, in Charlestown. A duel fol- 
lowed, and shots were ineffectually exchanged^ Here, the 
affair was arrested — how, we know not — and Grant left the 
country. But the affair occasioned an intense excitement, and 
bitter feelings of animosity in the community. The native Car- 
olinians generally sided with their champion ; but, the Scotch 

83. Who resented his conduct, and how? 34. Who was Middleton, and how did 
he behave? 35. Was their duel harmless? 36. How did the affair aflfect the com- 
munity ? 



FROM 1756 TO 1764. 135 

merchants, in the city, who constituted the largest portion of 
the trading population, as naturally took sides with Grant. The 
bitter animosities which followed, it is not improbable, contrib- 
uted considerably to awaken, in the provincials, a more keen 
conviction of the arrogant and usurping spirit of the mother- 
country, which then, or soon after, began to display itself in 
various ways, a spirit no less impudent than usurpative, and 
which, finally, by its exactions and its insolence, led the colo- 
nies into a defiance of British power and authority, which, 
though inevitable in the end, might otherwise have been de- 
layed for, possibly, a hundred years. 

From this period, and from these and other events, we may 
date the true beginning, not only of the prosperity, but of the 
independence of Carolina. Hitherto, she had been straitened 
by deficient resources of wealth and population — had been 
hemmed in on all her borders, by Spaniards, French, and sav- 
ages. Now, all external pressure was withdrawn, and she was 
left free to expand, according to the degree of her natural 
energies, and the resources of her soil and climate. The red 
men, upon the frontier, had succumbed. The " peace of Paris " 
had relieved her from the secret machinations and the open 
hostilities of France. Florida, with Fort Augustine, and the 
bay of Pensacola, with all that Spain possessed, on the conti- 
nent of North America, east or southeast of the Mississippi, 
had been ceded to Great Britain, and though in the hands of 
Great Britain, Florida was destined to be as much a thorn in 
the side of Carolina as she had ever been while in possession of 
the Spaniards ; yet, as no human foresight could conjecture this, 
the Carolinians held themselves to be now secure Against dan- 
ger, from this, as from any other quarter, and exultingly de- 
voted themselves to the building up of the republic, with a zeal 
and confidence wholly free from distrust and doubt. Security 
from all enemies left her free for self-development ; it left her 
free, also, to the analysis of her own relations with Great Brit- 
ain — a study which now began to force itself upon all of the 

87. What liad been the condition of Carolina before the conquest of the Cherokees ? 
8S. How did this etmquest. and the "peace of Paris," affect tlie province? 89. How 
did this peace atfect the relations of Great Britain witli the provinces? 



136 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

American colonies, about tlie same time. Then, and not till 
then, and under such conditions of security from foreign pres- 
sure, could the spirit of political and social inquiry show itself 
active or confident. Once alive, and free to work, this spirit, 
passing from fact to fact, and from principle to principle, with 
amazing rapidity, soon arrived at those convictions of political 
truth, law, and equity, which learned to question the tenure of 
foreign authority, and the legitimacy of these relations with the 
mother-country, which placed the provincials wholly at her 
mercy. The summits of republican freedom were not far from 
sight, in the new spirit of political inquiry, thus made bold, ac- 
tive, and intelligent. But, of all this, hereafter. 

Never did any colony flourish in more surprising degree 
than South Carolina, as soon as the Cherokees were overcome, 
and the French and Spaniards driven from her borders. Her 
back country began to fill up. Hitherto, the settlements, two 
hundred miles from the sea, did not include twenty families. 
Now, multitudes of emigrants, from all parts of Europe, flocked 
to the interior, and perusing the devious courses of fertilizing 
streams, sought out their sources, sought out favorite spots for 
culture, and planted their little colonies along the side of slop- 
in «• hills, or in the bosoms of lovely valleys. Six hundred poor 
German settlers arrived in one body. But Ireland, probably, 
gave to the province its most principal elementary population. 
She poured forth such numbers, from her northern counties, as 
almost to threaten, in that portion, the depopulation of the 
Green Island. Scarce a ship sailed for any of the plantations, 
that was not crowded with men, women, and children, destined 
for the wainn and fertile region of CaroHna, of which such 
glowing tidings had reached their ears, and where the land was 
proffered in bounties to all comers. 

Nor did the province receive these accessions from Europe 
only. Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Maryland, all made their 
contributions. In the space of a single year, more than a thou- 
sa,nd families, with their effects, their cattle, hogs, and horses, 



40. What was its prosperity? 41. Wliat the progress of settlement? 42. From 
v/hat regions did settlers come ? 



FROM 1756 TO 1764. 137 

crossed the Apalachian ridges, from the eastern settlements, 
and pitched their tents along the Carolina frontier. 

These accessions made the country, till then a wilderness. 
They brought strength and security. In proportion, as the set- 
tlements grew and spread, and with the increase of numbers, 
the terrors of savage warfare were diminished. The Chero- 
kees, who still held that portion of the country, which now 
forms the districts of Greenville, Pickens, and Anderson, looked 
on the rapid approach of civilization with the natural appre- 
hension of the savage. Their instincts taught them to feel the 
coercion of a power, which was to dispossess them of the soil, 
but it needed years for their recuperation from the paralysis 
into which they were thrown by their late defeats. We shall 
see them, hereafter, again in the field, and again paying for the 
rashness of revolt, by the usual penalties of subjugation and 
privation. Another war will dispossess them of all that remains 
of the national inheritance within the limits of South Carolina. 

But with the increase of population in the backwoods of- South 
Carolina, there was a considerable diminution of numbers in 
the lower country. The acquisition of Florida, by Britain, the 
security of the frontier against the savages, and the admission 
of African slavery into Georgia, wonderfully accelerated the 
growth of this latter province. Many of the more wealthy in- 
habitants of Carolina bought lands, and removed their property 
to Georgia. The result of this was a vast increase of wealth 
and prosperity in this province. In 1763, her exports were 
but twenty-eight thousand pounds sterling ; but, in less than 
ten years from that period, they had reached one hundred and 
twenty-one thousand six hundred and seventy-seven pounds 
sterling. 

And still this prosperity of the more southern colony, though 
drawing somewhat from the resources of Carolina, did not seem 
to diminish them. She, too, was prosperous in high degree. 
In 1762, Thomas Boone had succeeded as governor to William 

43. What was the effect of this rapid increase of population ? 44. Of what districts 
did the Cherokees still keep possession ? 45. What was the effect of increased secu- 
rity upon the low country ? 46. How did Georgia thrive ? 47. What were its exports . 
in 1763? — in ten years after? 48. Who succeeded Bull as governor of South Caro- 
lina? 



138 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

Bull, to be succeeded by Bull again, in 1763. During all this 
period, the province flourished, grew, prospered, and extended 
its domain and cultivation to large increase of profits. In 1764, 
the German palatines, six hundred in number, settled upon the 
Santee, in a township given to them, called Londonderry. The 
assembly voted them an appropriation of five hundred pounds 
sterling. They addressed themselves to the culture of silk and 
the vine. England and Scotland sent subsidies of population, 
though in far less degree than Ireland ; and now, the British 
government, with, perhaps, a proper policy, interposed a check 
to the progress of settlement in the back country, by limiting 
the colonists to the sources of the great rivers that fall into the 
Atlantic; having, in this, a three-fold object — to protect the 
red men from encroachment, to keep the frontier-men from 
sudden dangers, and to condense, within accessible boundaries, 
the whole strength of the province. The subject was prohib- 
ited from purchasing lands from the red men. Traders were 
required to take out licenses for trading among the tribes, and 
a general superintendent. Captain John Stuart, an able man, 
was installed, having control of all the intercourse between the 
two races. All this tended to the amelioration of the condition 
of the red men, and the comparative security of the white. 

In 1765, William Bull, being still the governor, the province 
may be stated to be one hundred years old. But a very few 
years were needed to make it so. Yet, with all the rapid pro- 
gress we have reported, the increase seems wretchedly insig- 
nificant in modern times. In this year (1765), the number of 
white inhabitants, in Charlestown, was between five and six 
thousand ; of negroes, between seven and eight thousand. The 
population of the province was but forty thousand whites ; the 
whole number capable of bearing arms between seven and 
eight thousand. The negro population was between eighty and 

49. Who Boone ? 50. How did the province flourish, meanwhile ? 51. What Eu- 
ropean emigrants came to it in 1764? 52. Where did they settle, and what raise? 

53. What regulation did the British government make, touching the Indian country? 

54. Who did they appoint Indian superintendent? 55. What were their objects in 
this policy ? 56. How old was the province in 1765 ? 57. What, then, was the popu- 
lation of Charlestown ? 53. What of the whole province ? 59. What the negro pop- 
ulation ? 



FROM 1756 TO 1764. 139 

ninety thousand. The harbor of Charlestown was feebly forti- 
fied. On the Cooper river line there were several batteries. 
Fort Johnson, on James' island, was a slight fabric, with bar- 
racks for fifty men. The guns were mounted, in tolerable 
numbers, on all these forts ; but, there had been but little sci- 
ence shown in the erection, and neither fort nor town could 
have long stood the conflict with a couple of ships-of-war, using 
very heavy metah Outside of Charlestown, the towns were 
mere hamlets of the smallest size. Beaufort, Purysburg, Jack- 
sonburg, Dorchester, Camden, and Georgetown, were inconsid- 
erable villages, not one exceeding forty dwellings, and most of 
them within twenty or thirty. But, Charlestown, in that day, 
took rank, second to none, with the largest and most prosper- 
ous cities of North America. The people within, and in its 
precincts, were opulent, gay, showy, and hospitable ; their sons 
had been sent to England, for education. They brought back 
taste and refinement, as well as habits of expenditure. Fashions 
in dress and ornament were rapidly transferred from Europe. 
Luxury had found its way into the wilderness. Nearly every 
Charlestown family kept single-horse chaises, and most of the prin- 
cipal planters, their carriages, drawn by teams of four, and the 
horses were imported from Europe, and of good blooded stocks. 
They drank fine wines of Madeira, and used freely, also, the 
French, Spanish, and Portuguese wines. These were commonly 
displayed at dinner parties. Tea, coffee, chocolate, were among 
the breakfast and evening beverages, and the drink, in ordi- 
nary, through the day, was punch. But, though thus living, 
the gentlemen, in general, were temperate. " In short," says 
the old Scotch Presbyterian, Hewatt, " the people were not only 
blessed with plenty, but with a disposition to share it among 
friends and neighbors ; and, many will bear me witness, when 
I say, that travellers could scarcely go into any city where 
they could meet with a society of people more agreeable, intel- 
ligent, and hospitable, than that at Charlestown." 

60. How was Charlestown fortified? 61. What towns, or villages, are mentioned 
outside of Charlestown? 62. What their size? 63. What was the rank of Charles- 
town? 64. What is said of the people, their habits, mode of life, education, fashions, 
luxuries, wines, beverages? 65. Were they temperate? &&. What does Hewatt say 
of theii character? 



140 HISTORY OP SOUTH CAROLINA. 

The same writer tells us — " They, the Carolinians, discover 
no bad taste for the polite arts, such as music, drawing, fencing, 
and dancing ; and, that the women outshine the men. . . . 
They are not only discreet and virtuous, but adorned with most 
of the accomplishments which become the sex. . . . The 
Carolinians, in general, are affable and easy in their manners, 
and exceedingly hospitable and kind to strangers. . . . As 
every person, by diligence and application, may earn a com- 
fortable livelihood, there are few poor people in the province, 
except the idle and unfortunate." He adds — " There are more 
persons possessed of between five and ten thousand pounds ster- 
ling, in the province, than are to be found anywhere among 
the same number of people. In respect of rank, all men regard 
their neighbor as their equal, and a noble spirit of benevolence 
pervades the society. In point of industry, the town [Charles- 
town] is like a bee-hive, and there are none that reap not ad- 
vantage, more or less, from the flourishing trade and commerce. 
Pride and ambition had not, as yet, crept into this community ; 
but the province is fast advancing to that state of power and 
opulence, when some distinctions among men necessarily take 
place." 

From 1732, the Carohnians had possessed a newspaper; they 
had, also, a good bookstore, and had formed a society and li- 
brary, which was furnished with all new British publications 
of value. Their sports, in the city, were balls and assemblies, 
which *' were attended by companies almost equally brilliant 
as those of any town in Europe, of the same size." In the 
country, the sports of the field were enjoyed on a bolder and 
more adventurous scale than in Great Britain. The planters 
had the best dogs and horses ; were greater riders, and good 
riflemen ; and there were foxes to be hunted, and deer and 
bear formed the ordinary objects of pursuit. 

Such were Charlestown and Carolina at the close of the 
Cherokee war, and when, all enemies withdrawn from their 

67. What of their capacities — of their women? 63. What of their hospitality, in- 
dustry, wealth, their social standards, and the progress of the colony? 69. When 
did the Carolinians first possess a newspaper? 70. What of their bookstore and 
books ? 71. What of society, at their assemblies ? 72. What of their field-sports ? 



FROM 1756 TO 1764. 141 

borders, they were suffered to pursue their occupations in peace. 
But peace was not yet secure. Even in the moment of assured 
prosperity, the seeds were in rapid progress of cultivation which 
were to produce intestine war, separation from the mother-coun- 
try, and all the pride and all the perils of independence. 

73. What seeds of future trouble were sown at this period of prosperity? 



142 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 



CHAPTER VI. 

REGULATORS — SCOVILITES SEEDS OF REVOLUTION. 

We have, in previous chapters, shown the origin and end of 
the Cherokee war, and the advantages, especially in the back 
or mountain country, which followed their overthrow and the 
" peace of Paris." While the Cherokees could be stimula- 
ted by the machinations of the French, strengthened by their 
weapons, and cajoled by their arts, it M^as impossible that a 
white population could exist in the great forests of the interior. 

The growth of the upper country was, of course, retarded 
by this sinister and hostile inHuence. We have shown, how- 
ever, that, with the peace, population began to flow in as a 
spring-tide. But, as there is no mortal good utterly unmixed 
with evil, so it happened that an increase of population in these 
wild regions brought with it some of the seeds of mischief. 

It was one of the evils of this population that it was hetero- 
geneous. There were ancient antipathies, nursed in older coun- 
tries, that accompanied the new settlers. These founded their 
settlements, not together, but in colonies. Here, in one place, 
were Scotch, loyal, intense in their loyalty, and stubborn in their 
prejudices. 

There were Irish in another, more eager, enthusiastic, impul- 
sive, somewhat reckless, and never remarkable for their loyalty 
to the English domination. There were settlements of Quakers, 
rigid of habit, unaccommodating in regard to the habits of 
others ; not warlike, yet little desirous of any social union, ex- 
cept among themselves. 

There were Germans, and Swiss, and French, in small bodies, 

1. What is said of the growth of the upper or back country ? 2. How was it re- 
tarded? 3. How after the "peace of Paris?" 4. What was the evil in the popula- 
lation ? 6. From what foreign nations did the colonists come ? 



REGULATORS. 143 

but mostly living to themselves — a series of camps, as we may 
describe them all — regarding each other with no friendly eye, 
and holdmg so little communion with one another that they 
wrought out but few of the common purposes of society to- 
gether. Even the common necessity of all, good roads for the 
maintenance of trade and communion were not to be found ; 
and the country, from settlement to settlement, was only to be 
traversed along the ancient narrow footpaths of the red man. 

Most of these people, for many years, preserved their foreign 
mode of speech. The Germans continued to speak German ; 
there were settlements of the Scotch that spoke in Gaelic to 
the time of the Revolution. 

The French, and Irish especially, were the first to amalga- 
mate with society, and to show themselves flexible enough to 
promote, in some sort, the common objects of all social organi- 
zations. 

In this condition of things, society naturally remained feeble ; 
a foray of the Indians would find their several communities un- 
prepared. They had few motives prompting them to seek each 
other; and the lack of established facilities and a regular inter- 
course subjected them to great embarrassments and a tardy 
progress whenever any necessity arose for conveying intelli- 
gence essential to the common safety. A large portion of these 
early settlers, the Scotch and Germans especially, were graziers, 
and kept great herds of cattle. They took up large bodies of 
wild land, sometimes many miles remote from their own settle- 
ments, which they established as pastures. Here the herbage 
was plentiful, and the cattle bred in vast numbers, needing but 
occasional tendance and a little salt for keeping them docile. 

These large pastures, which were technically known as " cow- 
pens," occupied immense tracts ; and a selfish policy naturally 
made their owners unwilling to witness the approach of civili- 
zation. Every additional colony abridged the resources of the 
grazier in his cattle-pasture. 

To such a region, remote from society, unrestrained by law, 

6. What communion did these hold together ? 7. What languages were spoken ? 
8. Who were most ready to amalgamate ? 9. What was the chief occupation of the 
colonists ? 10. What were there pastures ? 



144 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

there naturally came numbers of reckless adventurers: rude, 
savage, lean, and hungry men, who preferred the life of the 
hunter or squatter, and who were just as likely to prey upon 
the possessions of the good citizens as upon the wild denizens of 
the forest. Our backwoods settlers very soon found themselves 
infested by tribes of ruffianly wanderers, who could give no 
proper account of their lives, conduct, and means of subsist- 
ence. Cattle stalking, hog and horse stealing, became legiti- 
mate occupations with all this class of people. They recog- 
nised the good old rule of the Highlander, as laid down by Rob 

Roy, that — 

" They should take who have the power, 
And they should keep icho can." 

They recognised no control of any other law. These 
outlaws grew bold from impunity and numbers. Burglaries 
and murders naturally followed horse-stealing, and there was 
no redress in society. There were no courts, no officers of 
justice, to enforce the law and protect the peaceful. The only 
court of justice in the state was in Charlestown, two hundred 
miles distant. Were the offender to be taken in the act, and 
carried to the seaboard for justice, he had ninety-nine chances 
in the hundred of being rescued from the officer before he could 
reach Charlestown by his comrades in iniquity. It was an ex- 
pensive thing to carry him thither, and still more costly to bring 
witnesses for the prosecution from such a distance. In brief, 
there were no laws in operation, and society, following its usual 
practices, was too feeble for its own defence. 

Extraordinary remedies were to be sought in such a condition 
of things, and, in sheer despair of any other means of security, 
the peaceable settlers put on their armor and took, with the 
weapons of war, the business of doing justice into their own 
hands. Under the lead of Thomas Woodward, Joseph Kirk- 
land, Barnaby Pope, and a few others, they organized a band 
of rangers, giving themselves the style of Regulators. 

This is said to be the first beginning of a practice which we 

11. What disorderly people came among them ? 12. What was their rule of con- 
duct? 13. What was the efifect upon society? 14. What remedies did the laws af- 
ford ? 15. Who were the first " Regulators ?'' 



REGULATORS. 145 

suspect is the natural resource of all new settlers in wild forest 
countries. It was soon generally known as ''^Regulations 

Our Regulators went to work with equal ardor and resolu- 
tion. They proceeded, also, with great deliberation and sys- 
tem. An instrument of writing was drawn up, which stated 
their grievances and the necessity of the case. In this they 
bound themselves to make common cause in the pursuit and pun- 
ishment of all public offenders. 

They prosecuted their purpose with an energy which soon 
filled the country with commotion. Their processes were very 
summary. They hunted up, or hunted down, the horse-thief and 
the burglar. He was generally quite too notorious to need any 
array of witnesses for his conviction. When caught, he was 
tied to a tree and subjected to the usual sentence — "forty 
stripes, save one, on the naked leather." This was generally 
administered with a will, and the tally was not too closely count- 
ed. It is probable that many gratuitous strokes were given. 
When discharged, the criminal was warned to disappear from 
the precinct within a given time. If again caught, he was sub- 
jected to severer punishments, among which were tarring and 
feathering, carting, and riding the rail. Such was Regulation. 

The Regulators, no doubt, began their work with an honest 
desire to protect society. But, when men take the law into 
their own hands, it is usually very difficult to keep themselves 
within the bounds of justice. The hands will be heavy, or light, 
in proportion to their sympathies and antipathies. It is proba- 
ble that our Regulators were not always scrupulous as to their 
victims. A personal grudge will readily assert itself in the 
name of justice and the public welfare. 

The Regulators, accordingly, soon roused a serious excitement 
and a spirit of resistance throughout the country which it was 
not easy to allay. The horse-thieves and cattle-reivers them- 
selves were quite too numerous and too hardy to submit peace- 
ably to the wild justice which took their outlawries in hands. 
They, too, made common cause in defence, and were sustained 

16. What was " Regulation ?" 17. How did the Regulators proceed ? 18. What 
were their punishments? 19. What the abuses of Regulation? 20. What opposi- 
tion did they create ? 

7 



148 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

by many, not like themselves, offenders, who felt indignant at 
the usurpation of authority, and, perhaps, abuse of justice. The 
issue between the two parties became one of arms, and threat- 
ened a civil war. In this exigency, the civil authority of the 
province was required to interpose. 

The governor of South Carolina, at this period (1766), was 
Lord Charles Greville Montague- With the view to the 
suppression of these strifes, he conferred a high commission on 
a man named Scovil — a name frequently written Scophil, and 
so pronounced by the common people. 

The governor was particularly unfortunate in the choice 
of his agent. Scovil was himself a suspected and offensive 
person among the Regulators. He was a truculent, noisy 
ruffian, who, swelling with his appointment, made his com- 
mission ridiculous as well as mischievous. As if the coun- 
try had been in actual rebellion, Scovil raised the royal 
standard, collected a force of rude men about him, probably 
drawn from the ranks of the w^orst offenders, and summoned 
the Regulators to answer before him for their usurpation of au- 
thority. He proceeded with a bold hand to seize upon some 
of the more eminent among them, and to send them to Charles- 
town for trial. He sided with the outlaws ; and, as a matter of 
course, the Regulators took up arms against the government, as 
it was represented in the authority of Scovil. 

The camps of Regulators and Scovilites confronted each 
other. Both parties were armed — embittered by frequent col- 
lisions, reproach, and mutual antipathies — and a bloody civil 
war threatened, the extent of which could scarcely be conjec- 
tured, when, by the interposition of some cooler heads, an armis- 
tice was agreed upon between them. The decision was rather 
that of the people themselves than their leaders. Both parties 
shrank from the odium of firing the first shot. It was agreed 
to separate, to break up their camps, and submit their mutual 
grievances to the governor. The danger thus passed away. 
Subsequently, in 1769, courts of justice were established at 

21. What danger impended ? 22. What was done by the governor ? 23. Who did 
he commission to harmonize the country ? 24. Who was Scovil, and what did he ? 
25. What was the result of his proceedings? 26. How were the parties reconciled ? 



REGULATORS AND SCOVILITES. 147 

Ninety-Six, Cambridge, Orangeburg, and Camden, supposed 
to be sufficiently convenient for the several precincts, the popu- 
lation of which was large enough to sustain them. The pretext 
for regulation was thus taken away from the Regulators ; the 
specious plea of the wrongdoers that they were only resisting 
usurpation was set at rest, and, for the time, both parties ap- 
, peared to submit with cheerfulness to the authorities of the 
land. 

But the parties did not cease to exist. The Regulators ex- 
ulted in having brought so many criminals to justice, and in 
having forced the establishment of their local courts ; and they 
continued to point to the followers of Scovil as an outlawed and 
roguish population. Regulators and Scovilites became the 
party names of the back country, and the several terms of 
reproach, freely employed, kept up the grudges and the animos- 
ities between them until these found their free exercise and fero- 
cious expression in the war of the Revolution, when the name 
of Scovilites became changed to that of tories, and the Regu- 
lators became the whigs. 

The first conflicts of the civil war (1775) in South Carolina 
were really between these old parties under their new names. 

The pacification of these parties, however temporary, enabled 
the back country to continue the progress in settlement which 
had been so actively begun at the close of the Cherokee war. 
The civil power in the province judiciously addressed its atten- 
tion to this object. Emigration from Europe and from the 
American colonies was encouraged, and the auspices were gen- 
erally favorable for the growth and prosperity of a province 
which had scarcely, at any time before, been suffered the op- 
portunity of free development. 

And now, when everything seemed auspicious, the seeds of 
war and revolution of strife, intestine division, and every form 
of social trouble, were ripening fast, to arrest that growth which 
seemed so promising. George the Third had succeeded to the 

27. What' courts of justice were established ? 28. What effect had this upon the 
parties? 29. Into Avhat subsequent parties did Scovilites and Eegulators resolve 
themselves? 30. Between whom, in South Carolina, were the first conflicts of the 
civil war in the Eevolution? 81. Did the back country prosper after these quarrels? 
82. What seeds of war were sown in Ihia time of peace ? 



148 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

throne of Great Britain. Under liis predecessor, South Caro- 
lina had found favor, encouragement, and protection. Things 
were about to change, and in due degree with the exactions and 
usurpations of the British crown was the revolution, in feeling 
and opinion, in active progress among the people of Carolina, 
in common with all Americans. 

With the gradual growth of numbers in the province, the* 
freedom from external danger, the increase of prosperity, came 
the exercise of mind and inquiry. This soon induced a natu- 
ral pride in their own strength, a questioning of the legitimacy 
of foreign authority, and a proper jealousy of those liberties in 
behalf of which they had encountered so many perils. They 
had hitherto endured, rather than obeyed, a foreign government. 
They had resisted its usurpations from the beginning. They 
had thrown off the yoke of the lord-proprietors as soon as 
they grew strong enough to do so ; and the assertion of the same 
principles which were then involved in the struggle brought 
them into fierce coUision with the British crown. 

George the Second had been rather a patron than a sove- 
reign. The Carolinians had known his authority rather by 
favor and protection than dominion ; to these they were largely 
indebted. The ascent of George the Third to the throne 
brought with it a change of policy in Britain, and with regard 
to the province, which awakened the anxieties of the intelligent 
and aroused the fears of the vigilant and jealous. 

Great Britain, covered with debt, and at a loss for pretexts 
for taxation at home, conceived the idea of fastening some por- 
tions of her burdens upon her American colonies. Her pretext 
for this was sufficiently plausible. She claimed that, as her 
debt was largely due to her efforts to expel the French from 
America, and as this expulsion must enure principally to the 
benefit of the colonies, so, properly, it was rather their debt than 
hers, and in justice they should be required to bear its burdens. 
But the war was that of Great Britain herself, and it was a 

33. Who was king of Great Britain ? 34. What was the change in public opinion ? 
85. What influences acted on the public mind ? 36. What had been the relations of 
George the Second to the province. 37. What was the condition of Great Britain? 
88. What was her plea for taxing the colonies? 



SEEDS OF REVOLUTION. 149 

struggle for power with an hereditary rival, and these parties 
had simply used America as their battle-ground ; thus remov- 
ing from themselves and transferring to the colonies all the mis- 
eries, losses, privations, massacres, and burnings, which belong 
to a merciless and protracted conflict. 

Great Britain, meanwhile, had used the colonies as children 
who should have no voice in the administration of their own 
affairs. She had appropriated all their offices, civil and mili- 
tary, to her favorites, and monopolized their trade, which, left 
free to the enjoyment of all nations, would, in all probability, 
have put them in perfect security from war. 

It was enough, thought the colonies, that Great Britain 
should derive her profits from the enjoyment of their trade and 
commerce exclusively, without charging them with the cost of 
a war which had been prosecuted chiefly for her own ambition. 
But power is not easily persuaded by plea or petition, or con- 
vinced by arguments, however rational and just. And, per- 
haps,' it was in the providence of God that Great Britain 
should turn a deaf ear to the prayers and pleadings of her col- 
onies. We are not prepared to say that the American colonies 
were prepared to go alone, and were quite equal to the exigen- 
cies of self-government. The Revolution was, perhaps, pre- 
mature, in its development, in the case of such feeble and scat- 
tered populations as those of South Carolina and Georgia. But 
even in these there was a consciousness of strength and growth 
that led to a surprising self-esteem. Their rapid increase of 
numbers, their rich territories, the variety of their productions, 
the value of their staples, the wealth which these necessarily 
procured, had the effect of inflating the popular idea in regard 
to its power ; and it was by a sort of instinct, by which, in the 
national imagination, they were led to a gradual lessening of the 
overweening estimate which they had, in their infancy, put 
upon British power, its genius and resources ; they had fought 
side by side with the British regulars, and not unfrequently 

39. How answered? 40. How did Great Britain treat the colonies? 41. What 
thought the colonies ? 42. What is said of the Eevolution here ? 43. What was the 
consciousness, growth, and strength of the colonies ? 44. What their opinion ofi 
British power ? 



150 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

saved them from defeat ; they began daily to feel less and 
less the importance of a British connection, and this connec- 
tion was but too frequently accompanied by a treatment which 
mortified self-esteem, and goaded provincialism into the asser- 
tion of independence. The royal government in the colonies 
was but too commonly represented by imbecility, which suffered, 
even in the vulgar eye, by contrast with the gifts and acquisi- 
tions of the natives. Favorites of court, younger sons, were sent 
out to rule a people who could produce from their own ranks a 
far superior moral and intellect. And these favorites of courr, 
royal governors, judges, counsellors, and commanders, solicitous 
of place and power, were not only apt to abuse it, but found or 
thought it their policy, to keep the crown ignorant of the facts 
in the case of the colonies, or who grossly misrepresented them. 

Whatever the sympathies of the colonists for the mother- 
country, these things, and the great stretch of sea which divided 
them from the foreign power, naturally led to their alienation 
from it. The people saw few of its pomps, enjoyed few of its 
favors, were daily vexed by the abuses of its creatures, and, 
when the arrogance of parliament sought only to make them 
sensible of its power, by reason of its exactions, it is easy to 
conceive how, in" process of time, they should come to regard 
it only as an enemy. 

From the moment when the peace of Europe led to the with- 
drawal of all pressure from an external enemy, the people had 
been receiving these impressions, and acquiring that strength 
which prepared them to perceive, and enabled them to resist, 
all such laws as they deemed hostile to their interests or dan- 
gerous to their liberties. The hardships they had endured, in 
the establishment of the colony, had made them singularly jeal- 
ous from the beginning. Many of them had inherited a natu- 
ral aversion to monarchy from their ancestors, the puritans ; and 
the removal of the cavaliers from the sources and shows of roy- 
alty, had gradually weaned them, also, from that faith in its 
saviiH^ virtues by which they had been so ready of old to swear. 

45. IIow was the royal power in the colonies commonly represented ? 46. What in« 
.fluences naturally weaned the colonies from Britain? 47. From what period did this 
fret opinion begin to be active? 



SEEDS OF REVOLUTION. 151 

After nearly a hundred years' abode in the same regions, there 
had been, in most cases, an utter overthrow of those social and 
political barriers which had made these parties hostile to one 
another. They had measurably amalgamated ; and freedom *of 
religion, and an equal share of power, had taken from both par- 
ties the ancient sting of prejudice, and they now worked together 
amicably for the common good. There was no longer any rivalry 
between them. This was true of the lower and middle country 
of South Carolina, in 1770. And, in these regions especially, 
the progress of education and intelligence had been such, that 
they were not only prepared to assert independence, but were 
equal in intellect and courage, to the argument, in any court in 
Christendom. But even here, and with this unanimity generally 
existing among such as were old inhabitants, and their descend- 
ants, there were classes who were tenacious of the crown and 
of its rights in defiance of all considerations. These were 
mostly British subjects. A large portion of the mercantile com- 
munity were Scotch and English. In the first blush of the 
popular discontents they took little part — trade being always 
reluctant to peril capital upon the caprices of politics. Subse- 
quently, however, they showed themselves in their true colors, 
as bigoted loyalists, hostile to all popular proceedings, a danger 
in the very heart of the commonwealth. 

This was particularly the element of mischief in the back 
country. When the first steps were taken in the Revolution, a 
large portion of the people were foreigners, born British sub- 
jects, had been only eight or ten years in the country, had no 
intercourse, no sympathies, with the people of the seaboard, and 
were particularly jealous and resentful of the superiority which 
they asserted in arts, refinements, wealth, and education. It 
is well to keep these facts in mind, as furnishing the clues to 
that bloody civil war, of whigs and tories, by which the country 
was subsequently torn and ravaged from one extreme to the 
other. 

But we should greatly err v/ere we to convey the idea that 

48. What is said of the blending of old parties in South Carolina ? 49. Of what re- 
gions was this true ? 50. What was their intellectual capacity ? 51. What classes in 
Charlest/iwn were loyal V 52. How did these show themselves hereafter? 



152 HISTORY OP SOUTH CAROLINA. 

any portion of the province was ripe for revolution, or contem- 
plated, at the outset, an utter severance from the British nation. 
There were, no doubt, a few daring spirits, such as Christopher 
Gadsden, who saw, from afar, the absolute result, and regarded 
it with satisfaction. But the greater number were drawn grad- 
ually, step by step — by degrees, almost insensible to them- 
selves — into the maelstrom of revolution, into a bloody war, 
when they contemplated at the beginning simply a redress of 
grievances and a reform of abuses in government. The prov- 
ince, as we have said, was not ripe for anything further ; and, 
though there can be little doubt that, as soon as the infant could 
throw off its swaddling clothes, it would seek to walk alone, yet 
there is as little question that South Carolina was in no such 
advanced condition. Her population was quite too sparsely set- 
tled, and too much wanting in homogeneousness. She was 
goaded prematurely to the precipice, when it became a point 
of honor and pride that she should take the leap, regardless of 
all consequences. 

But, down to the period of which we have been speaking, 
1765, the period of the stamp act. South Carolina, had no suffi- 
cient reason for a quarrel with Great Britain. She had, on the 
contrary, many good reasons for loving her with undeviating 
loyalty. Her government was closely modelled on that of the 
British constitution. The mother-country gave her warm and 
prompt succors in all her emergencies, and not an enemy to the 
Hanoverian succession to the British Constitution, or to the 
regal system, could be found within her limits prior to 1765. 
The people were especially fond of British tastes, manners, and 
opinions ; their children had a British education, and they 
spoke of the mother-country invariably under the endearing 
appellation of " home." The institutions of civil and religious 
liberty which they brought from Britain were tenaciously pre- 
served and enthusiastically insisted on. They had flourished 
under these, loved them, and cared for no other. They cheer- 
fully obeyed the laws under the crown, though these contem- 

54. What was the element of miachief in the back country, and why ? 55. Was any 
portion of the province prepared at first for separation ? 56. Was there an exception ? 
and who ? 57. Why not prepared for separation ? 58, What were the relations of South 
Carolina to the mother-country in 1765? 



SEEDS OF REVOLUTION. 153 

plated a monopoly for the benefit of the parent-state. The griev- 
ances arising from British law, which bore hard upon some of 
the northern colonies, such as were engaged in the fisheries, 
manufactures, and shipping, did not affect their interests ; and, 
looking to the array of evils, wrongs, and abuses, as set forth by 
the Declaration of Independence, and as furnishing adequate 
cause of quarrel and a justification of revolution, there will not 
be found one, not purely constructive and abstract, as an evil of 
which they had reason to complain. 

But the assertion of a right of colonial taxation by parlia- 
ment, without representation accorded, was a sufficient cause of 
jealousy and suspicion, in keeping with the natural spirit 
of liberty and right which fills the bosom of an English stock. 
Let us proceed now to trace the several steps by which a lov- 
ing and loyal people became the determined enemies of the 
crown and British government. 

59. Did the grievances of the northern colonies affect her? 60. What was the flrat 
suflScient cause of disaffection on the part of the province to the crown ? 

7* 



BOOK IV. 

PROGRESS TO REVOLUTION. 



CHAPTER I. 

FROM 1765 TO 1775. 

The whole progress of the province of South Carolina had 
been calculated to nourish a spirit of independence among the 
people. Planted under the auspices of the English constitution, 
they had been nursed in danger, and made vigorous by years 
of strife and suffering. They had grown prosperous in spite 
of trial. In most cases cultivators of the soil, agriculture had 
taught them simplicity, hardihood, and a frank, bold, free speech 
and thought ; and, wealth had not yet so grown as to introduce 
luxury. There were few families so far raised above the rest, 
by opulence or education, as to constitute an aristocracy. The 
very fact that their settlements were scattered, contributed to 
individual self-esteem. Negro slavery had the farther effect 
of making them jealous of their own liberties, while elevating 
them to a high sense of their own dignity and character. Most 
of the white inhabitants were freeholders, having no superiors; 
their own grounds yielding them all the necessaries of life. 
There were no religious restraints ; there was nothing to fetter 
the spirit of free inquiry, and the whole tendency of the popular 
education was to independence. Nothing was wanting to its 
assertion but a continued and unembarrassed growth to ade- 
quate power and dimensions, or such provocation as should 
precipitate events, and anticipate such as were inevitably grow- 

1. What effects had the progress of the province of South Carolina upon the people? 
2. What had agriculture . taught ? 3. What sparseness of settlement and negro sla- 
very? 4. What was the whole tendency of the popular education? 



FROM 1765 TO 1775. 155 

ing in tlie womb of Time. The recklessness of British author- 
ity, the selfishness of its officials, the lack of wisdom in all, soon 
gave the required provocation, and forced the crisis upon the 
country, which, under different auspices, might have continued 
to acknowledge the sovereign of Britain fifty years longer. 

The first British statute that awakened the general opposition 
of the colonies, was one entitled the " Stamp act." It was 
passed in the year 1765. By this it was enacted, that all in- 
struments of writing, which are in use among a commercial 
people, should be void in law, unless executed upon stamped 
paper or parchment, charged with a duty imposed by parlia- 
ment. 

South Carolina declared her opposition to this assumption of 
arbitrary power, without waiting to consult with any other col- 
ony. Her example had considerable effect in recommending 
measures of like opposition to many others, who were more 
tardy in their concurrence. The assembly of Carolina em- 
bodied the sentiments of the greater number of the people, in 
the principles contained in the following resolution ; — 

''■Resolved^ That his majesty's subjects in Carolina, owe the 
same allegiance to the crown of Great Britain, that is due from 
its subjects born there. That his majesty's liege subjects of 
this province, are entitled to all the inherent rights and liberties 
of his natural born subjects, within the kingdom of Great Brit- 
ain. That the inhabitants of this province appear, also, to be 
confirmed in all the rights aforementioned, not only by their 
charter, but by an act of parliament, 13th, George II. That 
it is inseparably essential to the freedom of a people, and the 
undoubted right of Englishmen, that no taxes be imposed on 
them, but with their own consent. That the people of this pro- 
vince are not, and from their local circumstances can not be, 
represented in tiie house of commons in Great Britain ; and, 
farther, that, in the opinion of this house, the several powers 
of legislation in America, were constituted, in some measure, 
upon the apprehension of this impracticability. That the only 

5. How was indepeiidenoe precipitaled ? G. What was the first British statute that 
aroused this spirit? 7. What did it enact?' 8. What did South Carolina declare? 
9. What effect had her declaration upon other colonies? 



156 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

representatives of the people of this province, are per>oim 
chosen by themselves, and that no taxes ever have been, or c«n 
be, constitutionally imposed on them, but by the legislature of 
this province. That all supplies to the crown being free gifts 
of the people, it is unreasonable and inconsistent with the prin- 
ciples and spirit of the British constitution, for the people of 
Great Britain to grant to his majesty the property of the peo- 
ple of this province. That trial by jury is the inherent and in- 
valuable right of every British subject, in this province. That 
the act of parliament, entitled, an act for granting and applying 
certain stamp-duties, and other duties, on the British colonies 
and plantations, in America, etc., by imposing taxes on the in- 
habitants of this province ; and, the said act and several other 
acts, by extending the jurisdiction of the courts of admiralty 
beyond its ancient limits; have a manifest tendency to subvert 
the rights and liberties of this province. That the duties im- 
posed by several late acts of parliament, on the people of this 
province, will be extremely burdensome and grievous ; and, 
from the scarcity of gold and silver, the payment of them abso- 
lutely impracticable. That, as the profits of the trade of the 
people of this province ultimately centre in Great Britain, to 
pay for the manufactures which they are obliged to take from 
thence, they eventually contribute, very largely, to all the sup- 
plies granted to the crown ; and, besides, as every individual, 
in this province, is as advantageous, at least, to Great Britain, 
as if he were in Great Britain, as they pay their full proportion 
of taxes for the support of his majesty's government here (which 
taxes are equal, or more, in proportion to our estates, than those 
paid by our fellow-subjects, in Great Britain, upon theirs), it is 
unreasonable for them to be called upon to pay any further part 
of the charges of government there. That the assemblies of 
this province have, from time to time, whenever requisitions 
have been made to them by his majesty, for carrying on mili- 
tary operations, either for the defence of themselves, or Amer- 
ica in general, most cheerfully and liberally contributed their 

10. By whom alone did this resolution declare that taxes could be imposed? 

11. What did they declare to be the tendency of the stamp act and other acts? 

12. HoAV had the assemblies met the British requisitions upon them? 



FROM 1765 TO 1775. 157 

full proportion of men and money for these services. That, 
though the representatives of the people of this province had 
equal assurances and reasons with those of the other provinces, 
to expect a proportional reimbursement of those immense charges 
they had been at for his majesty's service, in the late war, out 
of the several parliamentary grants for the use of America ; 
yet, they have obtained only their proportion of the first of 
those grants, and the small sum of two hundred and eighty-five 
pounds sterling received since. That, notwithstanding, when- 
ever his majesty's service shall, for the future, require the aid 
of the inhabitants of this province, and they shall be called upon 
for this purpose, in a constitutional way, it shall be their indis- 
pensable duty most cheerfully and liberally to grant to his ma- 
jesty their proportion, according to their ability, of men and 
money, for the defence, security, and other public services, of 
the British-American colonies. That the restrictions on the 
trade of the people of this province, together with the late 
duties and taxes imposed on them by act of parliament, must 
necessarily greatly lessen the consumption of British manufac- 
tures among them. That the increase, prosperity, and happi- 
ness of the people of this province, depend on the full and free 
enjoyment of their rights and liberties, and on an affectionate 
intercourse with Great Britain. That the readiness of the col- 
onists to comply with his majesty's requisitions, as well as their 
inability to bear any additional taxes, beyond what is laid on 
them by their respective legislatures, is apparent from several 
grants of parliament, to reimburse them part of the heavy ex- 
penses they were at in the late war in America. That it is the 
right of the British subjects of this province to petition the king, 
or either house of parliament. 

Ordered, That these votes be printed, and made public, that 
a just sense of the liberty, and the firm sentiments of loyalty 
of the representatives of the people of this province, may be 
known to their constituents, and transmitted to posterity." 

The people of South Carolina did not confine themselves to 

13. What reimbursement had been made by parliament? 14. How did they pledge 
themselves to meet constitutional demands in future ? 15. What did they declare 
themaehcs unable to -lo? 16. With what order did the resolution conclude? 



158 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA*. 

these declarations. On the arrival of the stamped paper in the 
harbor of Charlestown, the lieutenant-governor, Bull, perceiving 
the temper of the people, did not venture to bring the stamps 
into the city. He found himself too feeble to coerce obedience. 
The stamps were, accordingly, stored at Fort Johnson, on James' 
island. This ascertained, a body of volunteers, one hundred 
and fifty in number, were organized and armed, proceeded, at 
midnight, to the fort, surprised it, secured the garrison, and 
seized the stamp-paper. Then, arming the batteries, and mak- 
ing all preparations for the defence of the fort against the Brit- 
ish sloop-of-war which had brought the stamps, and which lay 
directly under their guns, they hung out a flag at daylight, 
showing a blue field with three crescents. The sight of this 
flag brought about a parley with the commanding oflicer of the 
sloop. He was invited into the fort, and shown the prepara- 
tions for its defence — was told that they were prepared to 
resist any assault; but, that they would re-deliver to him the 
stamped paper, on his solemn pledge to depart with it to Eu- 
rope, and sail immediately. The officer, upon reflection, com- 
plied with the requisition, and, receiving the paper, weighed 
anchor, and went to sea that very day. 

Thus was the Revolution begun in South Carolina (Octo- 
ber, 1765). The governor was powerless, and confounded by 
the audacity of the proceeding. Nor did the popular spirit 
content itself with so bold a demonstration. Suspicions were 
entertained that a portion of the stamped paper had been 
smuggled into the city, and v/as secreted in certain houses. 
At this suspicion, the populace rose in tumult, paraded the 
streets with arms, searched the suspected houses, threatened 
as w^ell the persons as the property of the king's officers, and 
made them drink " Damnation to the stamp act !" 

The assembly, spite of the law and governor, proceeded to 
do business, as usual, without recognising the necessity of 

17. Did the people of South Carolina confine themselves to these resolutions ? 
IS. What course did Governor Bull pursue? 19. Where were the stamps secured? 
20. What party surprised Fort Johnson, and with what object? 21. How did they 
act? 22. W^hat was their flag? 23. What was the result of the interview with the 
captain of the sloop-of-war? 24. What was the effect upon the governor of these bold 
proceedings? 25. What was the action of the populace? 26. How did the assembly 
proceed ? 



FROM 1765 TO 1775. 159 

Stamped paper ; but, there was a protracted struggle between 
them and the crown officers on the subject. This struggle led 
to frequent prorogations of the assembly, and to the as fre- 
quent defeats of all legislation — the commons house represent- 
ing the republican tendencies of The people, in opposition to 
the governor and his council. 

The proceedings of the assembly, the declarations and reso- 
lutions, were all duly reported to the home government. So, 
also, was the popular violence, as illustrated in the mobs of the 
city, and the seizure of Fort Johnson, and of the stamped pa- 
per. The intelligence produced its effect in Great Britain. 
The crisis was alarming ; it effected a favorable change in the 
ministry, and the stamp act was repealed (1766). 

It is in proof of the fact that the South Carolinians had 
sought only a redress of grievances, and the assertion of their 
rights as British subjects, and not the separation of the prov- 
ince from the mother-country, that they received the tidings of 
this repeal with great rejoicings. In their gladness of heart, 
they proceeded to erect a marble statue in Charlestown, of 
William Pitt, in recognition of his great and patriotic endeavors 
to bring about this repeal, and in urging the rights and claims 
of the Americans. This statue is preserved to the present 
hour. 

But the exultations of the. Carolinians were short-lived. 
Great Britain lacked the magnanimity to do full justice. The 
crown was jealous of its prerogative, and the right to impose 
taxes upon the colonies, at pleasure, was not yielded. It was 
re-asserted, in a like measure of arbitrary authority, in the year 
following. Duties were imposed on glass, paper, tea, and 
painters' colors. The opposition of the colonies was renewed 
with partial success ; the duties, with the exception of that 
upon tea, were all withdrawn ; and, the Americans determined 
to defeat the effect of this reservation, by refusing to consume 
a commodity v.'hich was made the medium of unjust taxation. 

This resolution was rendered inoperative by a scheme of the 

27. What was the effect of their proceedings in Great Brit:iin ? 28. What was the 
effect of the repcnl of the stamp act, in Sovith Carolina? 29. What of William Pitt? 
80. What did Great Brilain lack ? 81. What was its next enactment? 



160 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

West Indian company. It sent to the colonies large shipments 
of tea, to be sold on account of the company. 

This measure increased the anger of the colonists. They 
promptly entered into combinations to obstruct or prevent its 
sale. In some places, the landing of it was forbidden. The 
cargoes first sent to Charlestown were stored, and rotted in the 
storehouses, the consignees being denied to expose it in the 
market. A second supply was thrown overboard, both at 
Charlestown and Georgetown. At the latter place, this sum- 
mary process was resorted to in the first instance as at Boston, 
where a few persons, disguised and painted as Indians, entered 
the vessels, and thus disposed of their cargoes. The Bosto- 
nians were the first in this achievement. The Carolina leaders, 
however, executed the same process without resorting to dis- 
guises. 

This violence brought down upon the colonies the legislative 
vengeance of the British parliament. Boston was the first to 
feel its indignation. Acts were passed which virtually put that 
city in a state of blockade. Other acts followed rapidly, by 
which the whole executive government was taken out of the 
hands of the people, the nominations to all offices vested in 
the king or his special representative, and the privileges secured 
by the colony charter, were usurped in some of its most vital 
and important features. 

Great was the sympathy for the people of Boston expressed 
and felt in all the colonies. In none more passionately than 
South Carolina. These proceedings of crown and parliament 
had the effect of producing a , general confederacy of the col- 
onies, sustaining Massachusetts against the measures which 
not only threatened her ruin, but held out to all of them the 
prospect of utter subjugation to a wholly arbitrary and irre- 
sponsible authority. South Carolina, in an assembly of the 
people, declared that " the late act for shutting up the port of 
Boston, and the other late acts relative to Boston and the prov- 
ince of Massachusetts, are calculated to deprive many thou- 

32. Wliat measure increased the anger of the colonists ? 83. What did they do about 
the tea ? 84. What with a second supply ? 35. What action did Parliament take in regard 
to these proceedings? 86. What acts did they pass? 37. How did the treatment of 
Boston affect South Carolina? 38. What was the act of all the colonies? 



PROM 1765 TO 1775. 161 

sand Americans of their rights, properties, and privileges, in a 
most cruel, oppressive, and unconstitutional manner — are most 
dangerous precedents, and, though levelled immediately at the 
people of Boston, very manifestly and plainly show, if the in- 
habitants of that town are intimidated into a mean submission 
to said acts, that the like are designed for all the colonies, 
when not even the shadow of liberty to his person, or of secu- 
rity to his property, will be left to any of his majesty's subjects 
residing on the American continent." 

On the sixth day of July, 1774, one hundred and four depu- 
ties from all parts of the province, a few small precincts only 
excepted, assembled in Charlestown to take into consideration 
the relations of crown and colonies, and for the better assertion 
and protection of the rights of the latter. Their resolutions de- 
clared, among other things, that " the king's subjects in Amer- 
ica are entitled to all the inherent rights and liberties enjoyed 
by natural born subjects within the kingdom ;" that " taxes 
should not be imposed on the people without their own con- 
sent ;" that " an act (35 Henry viii.) for the trial of treasons 
committed out of the king's dominions " does not and can not 
extend to any crimes committed in any of his majesty's Amer- 
ican colonies ;" that the three late acts of parliament, relative 
to Boston, are of the most alarming nature to all his majesty's 
subjects in America," &c. They resolved that every justifiable 
means ought to be tried to procure a repeal of those acts, and 
of all others affecting the constitutional rights and liberties 
of America. To effect these objects, they resolved farther to 
adopt a vote of non-importation, a refusal to use the articles 
taxed, and to send deputies to a general congress of represent- 
atives from all the disaffected colonies, to assemble at Philadel- 
phia. The deputies chosen were five, viz. : Henry Middleton, 
John Rutledge, Thomas Lynch, Christopher Gadsden, and Ed- 
ward Rutledge. These were authorized " to concert, agree to^ 
and effectually "prosecide such legal measures as, in the opinion 
of these deputies, and of the deputies of the other colonies, shall 

89. What were the declarations of South Carolina? 10. What assembly met in 
South Carolina in 1774? 41. With what object? 42. What were their resolves? 
48. Who did they choose as deputies to Congress ? 



162 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

be most likely to obtain a repeal of the late acts of parliament 
and a redress of grievances." 

This duty done, upon a reassemblage of this body (8th July, 
1774), they resolved that a committee of ninety-nine persons — 
fifteen merchants and fifteen mechanics representing Charles- 
town, and sixty-nine planters representing the rest of the prov- 
ince, should constitute a general committee to continue to act in 
authority until the next general meeting of the representa- 
tives. It will be seen from this and previous chapters that the 
usurpation of civil power by the people was almost complete \ 
that the authority of the crown was almost nominal, and its 
ofiicers reduced to ciphers. But the forms of legislation were 
observed, as usual, though measurably inoperative. 

While these events were in progress, there were new riots 
about tea, in consequence of new importations. A Captain 
Maitland, who had brought out some in his vessel, was compelled 
to fly and put himself under the protection of a vessel of war, 
lying in the harbor. The vessel, with the tea, was only saved 
by being hauled out into the stream, and under the guns of the 
man-of-war, by armed barges despatched from her for this pur- 
pose. 

About this time a new act of parliament, which quartered the 
troops of his majesty upon the inhabitants of the colonies, deep- 
ened the discontents of the people, and increased the violence of 
their passions. The general assembly of South Carolina, which 
had been repeatedly prorogued by the governor, assembled at 
an earlier hour than usual, anticipated his message, and passed 
their resolutions — among others, one for paying the expenses 
of their delegation in the general congress out of the funds of 
the province. They also applied for arms for the defence of 
the back country against the Indians. This was no doubt, a 
mere pretext to supply the country with munitions of war. 

The feeling waxed warmer daily. On Sunday, August 14, 
1774, the Rev. John Bullraan, assistant minister of St. Mi- 
chael's, preached a sermon which was supposed to reflect on 

44. How instructed? 45. What committee did the assembly appoint? 46. With 
whom now lay the civil power in South Carolina? 47. What of Captain Maitland? 
48. What new act of parliament increased the popular anger? 49. What was the 
action of the general assembly ? 



FROM 1765 TO 1775. 163 

the popular proceedings. His audience could scarcely hear him 
out, and he was subsequently dismissed the church. When, in 
the vestry, the vote for his dismission was put, there was a cry, 
" Now shall we see who are the enemies of the country." The 
vote against him was welcomed with a shout that shook pulpit 
and altar, as a proof of the strength of the American cause. 

In the meantime, the congress representing twelve of the 
colonies assembled at Philadelphia (1774). Their proceedings 
must be sought for in the general history of the confederacy. 
We may mention, however, that, on the retirement (from sick- 
ness) of their first president, Peyton Randolph, Henry Middle- 
ton, of South Carolina, was chosen to supply his place. We 
may a3d, briefly, as these proceedings were subsequently the 
subject of warm discussion in South Carolina, that the congress 
adopted the acts of non-importation and non-consumption, which 
had been previously agreed upon by several colonies. These 
agreements contained a clause to discontinue the slave-trade, to 
which the southern members offered no opposition, and a pro- 
vision to except rice as an article of export from the list of non- 
exportation s. 

While the congress of the colonies were thus busy, William 
Henry Drayton, one of the leading minds of South Carolina, 
and one of the assistant judges of the crown, published a series 
of papers, entitled " Letters of Freeman," addressed to the Phil- 
adelphia Congress. These letters reflected upon the British 
judges, and gave great offence to those of the crown in South 
Carolina. Drayton was removed by supersedeas ; but the tri- 
umph of the crown-judges was short. He soon after became 
chief justice of South Carolina, an independent republic. 

On the 9th November, 1774, the general committee of South 
Carolina issued a call for a general meeting of the inhabitants 
of the province by representation. Thirty representatives were 
allowed to Charlestown ; ten to each of the four large districts, 
Ninety-six ; between Broad and Saluda rivers ; between Broad 

50. What took place Sunday, August 14, 1774? 51. When did the congress meet in 
Philadelphia? 52. What resolutions di-d they pass? 53. Upon what exception did 
the southern members insist ? 54. Who was William Henry Drayton ? 55. What did 
he publish? 56. "What was done with him? 57. What did he afterward become? 
58. What general meeting was called ? 



164 HISTORY OP SOUTH CAROLINA. 

and Catawba ; and for the territory east of Watere^. Such 
were then the divisions. Six representatives were allowed for 
each of the parishes. The representation was thus increased 
from forty-eight, which composed the commons house, to one 
hundred and eighty-four members. The assembly was appointed 
to meet in Charlestown, January 11, 1775. 

59. Kow was the representation distributed ? 60. What was the number of the old, 
and what of the new assembly ? 



FROM 1775 TO 1776. 165 



CHAPTER IL 

FROM 1775 TO 1776. 

The delegates, chosen under this call, assembled, at the ap- 
pointed time (eleventh of January, 1775), at the Exchange, in 
Charlestown; subsequently adjourning to the commons house 
of assembly, in the statehouse. The proceedings of the Phila- 
delphia congress were submitted, and their own delegates ap- 
peared to make their reports. These were considered, and the 
proceedings of the congress were fully approved ; rather, be- 
cause of an unwillingness to show dissent, at such a time, than 
beeause the action of the congress was entirely satisfactory. 
There was, indeed, not a little discussion, and much disappro- 
bation, in respect to certain of the proceedings. 

Charles Pinckney was chosen president, and Peter Timothy, 
secretary, of this convention of the people of South Carolina. 
Meanwhile, Lieutenant-governor Bull still acted as governor, 
under the crown. His position was an awkward one ; he was 
a native of the province, and closely allied with some of the 
popular leaders ; was a favorite of the people, and greatly be- 
loved by all ; was moderate in his own opinions, and indulgent 
to those of others ; and, no doubt, deeply regretted the rash 
counsels by which the crown was precipitating upon the coun- 
try the evils of civil war, and perilling its own possessions. 
There is little question that Bull's sympathies, and connection 
with the people of the province, were among the secrets of the 
local weakness of the British government. A more stern and 
decisive executive, with fewer sympathies, and more devotion 

1. Wheu and where did the delegates of South Carolina assemble? 2. What report 
was made by their deputies, and what action had upon it? 8. Was the assembly 
unanimous equally in their action and opinion? 4. Who was president, and who 
secretary, of the assembly? 5. Who was acting as royal governor at this time? 
6. What was Bull's position, and how did it affect the government? 



166 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

to the crown, might have arrested for a longer period, the pop- 
ular tendencies to revolution. So, perhaps, thought the royal 
government, for we see, shortly after this, that Bull was super- 
seded in the executive ofRce. 

It was among the subjects of discussion, in this revolutionary 
assemblage, why, when American grievances were the topics 
of consideration in the congress, that body had limited its re- 
searches to the year 1763? — why they had not gone farther 
back, and reported the many aggressions of Great Britain upon 
her infant colonies, from a far earlier period ; aggressions shown 
in jealousies, monopolies, and prohibitions, for the express pur- 
pose of arresting their growth to power ; abridging their tr/ide 
and manufactures, and crippling those energies which must 
otherwise have made them all great and prosperous states. 

Something of the spirit which dictated these inquiries may 
be shown by the action of one in especial among their dele- 
gates. Christopher Gadsden, in the first Philadelphia con- 
gress, counselled boldly, that General Gnge should be attacked 
and overcome in Boston, before the reinforcements should ar- 
rive from Britain. It was a subject of great subsequent regret, 
that these counsels, and the vigorous action which they urged, 
had been overruled — congress being then of opinion that the 
action would be premature. We may here mention that Gads- 
den was one of the first of the American patriots to counsel 
bold measures ; to insist upon determined action ; to assert the 
fullest independence for America. There were few other lead- 
ers in the country, at this period, who did not prefer to tempo- 
rize. 

The delegates replied to all this, that the representatives of 
Virginia opposed any more remote retrospect of the relations 
between the crown and the colonies, being desirous of flinging 
all the reproach of misgovernment upon the reign of George 
the Third. 

The next subject of discussion in the revolutionary assembly 
related to the non-exportation act, which, pledging the country 

7. What was the first subject of discHSsion ? 8. What did Gadsden propose in tho 
congress, at Philadelphia ? 9. What is said of Gadsden ? 10. What was the reply 
of the delegates? 11. What special exception was made in the non-exportation act? 



FROiM 1775 TO 1776. 16T 

to export no merchandise, or commodity, whatsoever, to Great 
Britain, Ireland, or the West Indies, made a special exception 
in favor of rice. 

This exception gave great offence, as it seemed to sacrifice 
all other descriptions of labor and produce, for the benefit of 
the rice-planters. The exception had been opposed in con- 
gress by Christopher Gadsden, who proposed and urged that 
the clause " except rice to Europe," should be struck out of the 
instrument. The arguments against the clause were, undoubt- 
edly, plausible enough ; but, John Rutledge answered for him- 
self and his associates, and showed clearly that the case was 
properly an exceptional one, and the clause perfectly justified 
by the existing condition of things. 

Rutledge, subsequently, even more highly distinguished by 
South Carolina and in the confederacy, Avas a profound and sa- 
gacious politician, an acute lawyer, and an admirable orator ; 
one of the ablest, in that day, in all the confederacy. 

He said, in reply, " that, at an early period, he and the other 
delegates from South Carolina, had warmly pressed an imme- 
diate non-importation, and total non-exportation act ; that, as a 
non-exportation to Great Britain and Ireland was to withhold 
from thence the advantages their people might derive from the 
receipt of American commodities ; so, the end would be more 
surely effected, by retaining these commodities altogether in 
America. Such measures, however, could not be effected ; the 
northern colonies resolving to remit to England, as usual, to 
pay their debts hy the circuitous mode of their jiour and jish 
trade to the rest of Europe. In short, the commodities 
they usually sent to the mother-country were hut trifling ; 
and their real trade would he hut little affected by the associ- 
ation [for non-exportation to Great Britain]. For instance, 
Philadelphia carried on a trade of export, to the amount of 
seven hundred thousand 'pounds sterling ; yet scarce ffty thou- 
sand pounds of that amount went to the markets of the mother- 
country. It was evident that those colcfnies were less intent to 
annoy the mother-country than to preserve their own trade. He 

12. Who of the delegates had opposed it V 18. WTio answered for the delegates ? 
14. What is said of Rutledge? 15. What did he say in reply ? 



168 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

thought, accordingly, that justice to his constituents required that 
their trade should also be preserved as entire as possible. The 
northern trade," said he, " will be little affected by the associa- 
tion. He saw no reason why ours should be ruined. For 
nearly all our indigo, and two-thirds of our rice, went to the 
mother-country. And these were our chief exports. If we 
must bear burdens," he said, " let them be as equal as possible. 
Upon the whole," he added, " the whole affair seemed a great 
commercial scheme, among the flour colo7iies, to find a better 
vent for their flour, through the British channel, by taking the 
place of Southern rice. He was not willing that we shoidd be 
dupes of the North. He would not yield to their exactions. 
The exceptions claimed were necessary to supplying ourselves 
with the necessaries which we absolutely require." 

The argument was one of many ramifications. Indigo, hemp, 
lumber, corn, pork, butter, all had claims for exemption, as ve- 
hemently urged as rice ; but, after protracted and continued 
sessions, and long debates, the parliament, without a dissenting 
voice, approved of what had been done by the congress. 

They passed, in addition, a number of resolutions, suited to 
the times. They resolved the parish committees into a local 
magistracy, etc.; briefly, they superseded the royal govern- 
ment in most of its details. They concluded, finally, by a 
mixed recommendation to all the inhabitants, which savors of 
the old leaven of puritanism, to practise the use of fire-arms, 
and set aside a day for prayer, fasting, and humiliation. These 
recommendations for arming and praying, were carried into 
effect with equal zeal, and Charlestown resumed the appear- 
ance, which it had so frequently worn before, of a garrisoned 
town. Volunteers formed themselves into separate bands ; and 
the very boys of the city, emulating their seniors, were soon 
busy in the use of mimic weapons, and in the practice of the 
manual. 

The revolutionary parliament proceeded to establish a sys- 
tem of government for the colony. They now assumed the 

16. What other interests claimed exemption, also ? 17. What was the final action 
upon the exception? 18. What the other proceedings of the assembly? 19. What 
appearance did Charlestown assume? 20. What did this parliament establish? 



FROM 1775 TO 1776. 169 

style of provincial congress, by which we hereafter know the 
body, and, to all intents and purposes, became a legislature, to 
be convened when necessary. An independent government 
then arose, which eiFectually superseded the royal authority. 
This retained only a show of government -without power ; offi- 
cers, without the ability to exercise office ; the name of rule, 
Vk'ithout any essentials of government or state. 

Bice became the standard of value. The late delegates to 
the general congress were re-elected. On the seventeenth of 
January, 1775, the provincial congress waited on Lieutenant- 
Governor Biill, with an address. He refused to recognise 
them. The next day, the general committee met, under the 
authority of the provincial congress, and resolved, among other 
things, to have no dealings with the colony of Georgia ; holding 
it " as inimical to the liberties of the country." This was in 
consequence of the reluctance of that colony to join the associ- 
ated colonies. The parish of St. John's, Georgia, one of the 
richest and most populous of that colony, finally, sent deputies 
to the Charlestown committee, and prayed to be admitted to 
their alliance ; in fact, setting up for themselves. Georgia 
soon put herself right with the other colonies. 

In South Carolina, the terms of the association were rigidly 
complied with. Ships, arriving from England, were emptied 
of their cargoes, which were thrown into the sea, at Hog-island 
creek. Even a cargo of three hundred slaves was interdicted, 
and sent elsewhere. The private carriage and horses of a citi- 
zen, from England, were not suffisred to be landed. Non-con- 
formists were hung in effigy ; and, the public mind, at least, in 
the seaboard parishes, and at Charlestown, took an attitude of 
defiance, that overawed all opposition, and triumphed for a sea- 
son, at least, in measures of the most decided character. 

21. What style did it assume ? 22. WlTat sort of government arose from this ? 
23. What became of the royal government? 24. What did rice become? 25. Who 
wore elected to the general congress ? 26. How did Governor Bull receive the pro- 
vincial congress ? 27. What did the provincial congress, resolve in respect to Geor- 
gia? — and why ? 28. What parish, in Georgia, sent deputies to the provincial con- 
gress of South Carolina? 29. Did Georgia finally associate? 80. How were the terms 
of association observed in South Carolina? 31. What was done with British cargoes, 
and imported slaves, etc. ? Z1. What was the condition of the public mind in Charles- 
town? 



170 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

The general assembly met the sixth of September, 1774, but 
satisfied that nothing favorable to the crown could come of their 
legislation, the governor (Bull), commenced a series of proro- 
gations, which continued till January 24, 1775, when they were 
allowed to meet. They proceeded to compliment their popular 
delegates to the continental congress, and to approve of what 
had been done. They re-nominated and appointed tliem again 
to the congress at Philadelphia. It was during this session, 
that William Henry Drayton was suspended, as a member of 
the royal council ; a proceeding which only rendered him more 
popular with the community. The session was closed without 
reconciling the parties or doing much for the country. 

Meanwhile, the measures in the British parliament amounted 
to a declaration of war. There was an augmentation of the 
national forces, and regiments of foot and horse, and ships-of- 
war, were despatched to America. 

The general committee of South Carolina met again on the 
19th April, 1775. The startling news, recently received from 
Great Britain, was quietly discussed, and the conclusion reached 
was that war was inevitable, and that every preparation must be 
made for it. It was silently and secretly resolved that the pub- 
lic military stores should be seized into the hands of the people. 
Charles Pinckney, William Henry Drayton, Arthur Middle- 
ton, Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, William Gibbes, and Edward 
Weyman, were the committee chosen for this purpose. To them 
was confided substantially the charge of placing the colony in a 
proper posture for defence. 

They proceeded to their duties with rare energy and decision. 
On the night of the 21st April, 1775, one party seized all the 
powder at the Hobcau magazine ; another possessed them- 
selves of that at Cochran's, on the neck ; a third party broke 
open the armory in the state-house, and carried off eight hun- 

83. When did the general assembly meet? 34. What was Governor Bull's policy? 
and "Why? 35. When were they at length suffered to do business? 86. What did 
they do ? 87. Who was suspended from the king's council, and with what effect ? 
38. What were the measures of the British parliament? 89. How was this ne-ws re- 
ceived and acted on by the general committee of South Carolina? 40. What did that 
body secretly resolve? 41. Who did they appoint as a committee for this purpose? 
42. How did this special committee proceed ? 43. What did they on the 21st April, 
1775 ? 44. What arms did they secure ? 



FROM 1775 TO 1776. 171 

dred stands of arms, two hundred cutlasses, and all tne car- 
touches, flints, and matches that could be found ; in short, emp- 
tied the arsenal ! The affair took place, in each instance, by 
night and without commotion, but without disguises. Sentinels 
were posted throughout the town, order was maintained, and 
the contents of all the arsenals carried off without loss, and se- 
creted safely. The governor offered the usual reward ; but 
there was none found to betray the secret. 

The same parties proceeded to borrow money on account of 
the revolutionists. On the first day they procured a thousand 
guineas. They also sent liberal supplies to the suffering poor 
of Boston to the amount, in rice and cash, of nearly £8,500 
sterling. These contributions were continued liberally from 
time to time. And, while the committees were secretly and 
sternly incurring the doom of treason if not its penalties, the 
popular humor, in Charlestown, amused itself by exhibitions 
calculated to ridicule the British ministry and the more odious 
office-holders of the place under the crown. In caricature, 
Lord North, Lord Grenville, the pope, and the devil, were 
exhibited in the streets on scaffolds with wheels, which moved 
to and fro in all populous quarters. These effigies were inge- 
niously framed, so as to bob the head, or wave the hands, or 
bend the knee ; and these evolutions were severally performed 
on the approach of all placemen, crown-officers, or suspected 
persons. The mob seized the machine with delight, and whirled 
it about in all quarters. The boys modelled their own machines 
after it. It became one of those symbols, appealing to the senses, 
which served to enforce and illustrate the abstract questions 
which it was otherwise not so easy to explain. We may men- 
tion that the pope was lugged in because one of the charges 
against George the Third was, that he sought to force the 
Roman Catholic religion upon the country. That the devil 
should be a party in such an arrangement, was, with man}--, but 
a natural agency in such a design. The machine, and all 

45. How did they raise money? 46. What was sent to Boston ? 47. How did the 
popular humor show itself in Charlestown? 48. Whom did they show and burn in 
*lfigy? 49. What class of citizens did they ridicule? 50. What did the mob? 51. What 
charge had been made against George the Third ? 



172 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

its dramatis person ce, was afterward solemnly committed to the 
flames. 

In May, 1775, a letter from Arthur Lee, in London, advised 
that a plan had been laid before government to instigate the 
slaves to insurrection. The negroes had already begun to en- 
tertain the idea that the quarrel betw'een crown and colonies had 
originated m the desire of the latter to procure their enfran- 
chisement. This subject was then under discussion in the as- 
sembly, when news came of the battle of Lexington. The 
seizure of the king's mail a month before had amply assured 
the Carolinians that the king had resolved to coerce America 
by arms. 

The news from Lexington showed that the experiment was 
already begun. This event, though not known for long after, 
happened only two days before the sacking of the arsenals of 
Charlesto'vvn. The effect of the intelligence was conclusive and 
stimulating to the last degree. The excitement among poli- 
ticians and people became intense. The feelings of indignation 
— the passions of revenge — stirred in every patriot bosom. 
Blood had been shed. This extremity reached in the issue, 
the time for argument — the hope of reconciliation — the desire 
for it — were at an end ! A fierce spirit, swelling for freedom, 
was burning in every heart. All allegiance was considered as 
repealed — all ties sundered — as men reflected on the bloody 
plains of Lexington ! 

52. What letter came from Arthur Lee ? 53. What was the notion among the ne- 
groes? 54. What was the effect in Charlestown of the battle of Lexington ? 55. What 
was supposed to be repealed — what sundered — by the blood spilled at Lexington ? 



PROGRESS OF THE REVOLUTION. 173 



CHAPTER III. 

PROGRESS FROM 1775 TO 1776. 

The news of the battle of Lexington was received in Charles- 
town, the eighth of May, 1775. The provincial congress was 
at once called to meet on the first of June. The trial of arms 
was approaching, and it was necessary to prepare for it. There 
was no escape now, from the usual tests of revolution. Parties 
were compelled to declare themselves without evasion. There 
were timid councillors to be stimulated ; there were suspicious 
citizens to be overawed. There were numerous foreigners — 
residents — who could not be otherwise than hostile. 

The provincial congress met on the first of June, and TIenry 
Laurens was made president. This body prepared resolutions 
which declared the relations of the province, and all of the prov- 
inces, with Great Britain. They published articles of associa- 
tion, pledging themselves, " under every tie of religion and 
honor, to associate as a band in defence of the country, against 
every foe," — " solemnly engaging that, whenever our continen- 
tal or provincial councils shall deem it necessary, we will go 
forth, and be ready to sacrifice our lives and fortunes to secure 
the freedom and safety of the state." They added, " we will 
hold all those persons inimical to the liberties of the colonies 
who shall refuse to subscribe to this association." 

They passed a prohibition against the exportation of rice and 
corn, except with the consent of the secret association, who 
might need such exports in order to procure arms and ammu- 
nition from abroad. They resolved to raise two regiments of 

1. When was the news of the battle of Lexington received in Charlestown ? 2. What 
was the conviction it produced ? 3. What duties lay before the patriots? 4. Wnen 
did the provincial congress meet? 5. What did they declare and publish? C. To 
what did they pledge themselves? 7. What prohibition did they pass? 8. What 
did they resolve to raise ? 



174 HISTORY OP SOUTH CAROLINA. 

infantry, fifteen hundred men ; a regiment of cavalry rangers, 
four hundred and fifty men ; and, these were to be enrolled un- 
der the articles of war, and subjected to the discipline of Brit- 
ish troops. They voted a million of money ; commissioners 
of a treasury were resolved upon, and a council of safety was 
elected, consisting of Henry Laurens, Charles Pinckney, Rawlins 
Lowndes, Thomas Ferguson, Miles Brewton, Arthur Middle- 
ton, Thomas Hey wood, jr., Thomas Bee, John Huger, James 
Parsons, William Henry Drayton, Benjamin Elliott, and Wil- 
liam Williamson. These were vested with supreme power — 
the executive power of the province. 

On the eighteenth of June, Lord William Campbell arrived, 
superseding William Bull as the governor of the province, un- 
der the crown. He was received with a sullen sort of civility. 
The provincial congress made him an address, stating their 
causes of complaint, and justifying their proceedings. He re- 
fused to recognise their existence as a legal body, and declared 
himself unable to decide the dispute between the colonies and 
the crown. The legality of his own official position was, how- 
ever, no guaranty of authority. He was powerless. 

The provincial congress continued to raise their regiments. 
They elected Christopher Gadsden and William Moultrie, col- 
onels ; Isaac Huger, Isaac Motte, and William Thompson, lieu- 
tenant-colonels ; Owen Roberts, Alexander Mcintosh and James 
Mayson, majors ; Charles Cotesworth Pinckney, Barnard El- 
liott, Francis Marion, William Cattell, Peter Horry, Daniel 
Horry, Adam McDonald, Thomas Lynch, William Scott, John 
Barnwell, Nicholas Eveleigh, James McDonald, Isaac Harles- 
ton, Thomas Pinckney, Francis Huger, William Mason, Ed- 
mund Hyrne, Roger P. Saunders, Charles Motte, and Benja- 
min Cattell, captains, of the regimental companies. 

The captains of cavalry-rangers were Samuel Wise, Eli Ker- 
shaw, Edward Richardson, Ezekiel Polk, Robert Goodwin, 
Thomas Woodward, John Caldwell, Moses Kirkland, and John 

9. What did they vote ? 10. Who did they elect as council of safety ? 11. What 
power did they confer on this council ? 12. Who arrived on the eighteenth of June ? 
13. How was Lord Campbell received ? 14. IIow did congress address him, and how 
did he reply? 15. What election did they make ? 16. Who were elected colonels? 
17. Who majors ? 18. Who captains ? 19. Who were captains of rangers ? 



PROGRESS OP THE REVOLUTION. 175 

Purvis. They also appointed, about the same time, all the lieu- 
tenants and subalterns. The congress pledged itself, and the 
public faith, to provide the means for maintaining the troops, 
carrying on the affairs of state, and satisfying the public credi- 
ors. The recruiting was urged ; fifty men being allotted to each 
foot company, and thirty for the horse companies. 

Meanwhile, the governor, through his Indian agents, Stuart, 
Cameron, and others, was operating against the patriots, by ex- 
citing the settlers and red men of the interior, and seeking to 
organize them in behalf of the crown. The facts were ascer- 
tained by intercepted letters. 

A British ship-of-war was expected on the coast with several 
tons of powder, designed for the savages. The secret commit- 
tee issued instructions to Captains Barnwell and Joyner, of 
Beaufort, to seize the vessel. A schooner was fitted out, ac- 
cordingly, and commissioned by the Georgia congress. A joint 
force of Carolinians and Georgians manned her, put to sea, 
captured the British vessel, and appropriated all her ammuni- 
tion. A portion of the powder thus taken enabled Washington 
to continue the siege of Boston. 

The secret committee, about this time, found it necessary to 
put their powers into active operation, in Charlestown, in silen- 
cing foreign incendiaries. Some of these were tarred and 
feathered (an ancient British punishment), carted through the 
streets, and shipped to England. 

The leading members of the secret committee were William 
Henry Drayton, Arthur Middleton, and Charles C. Pinckney. 
They were prompt, vigilant, and resolute ; hence, they led public 
opinion, overawed opposition, encouraged the timid, and silenced 
discontent, for the time. Henry Middleton, Thomas Lynch, 
Christopher Gadsden, John Rutledge, and George Rutledge, 
were then in Philadelphia, serving in the continental congress. 

Hearing; that British powder and arms might be seized at 

20. To what did the congress pledge the province ? 21. What did the governor, 
meanwhile ? 22. What sea-enterprise was undertaken ? 23. Was it successful ? 
24. What help was the powder to Washington V 20. What ancient British punish- 
ment was used in Charlestown? 26. Who were the leading members of the secret 
committee? 27. How did they behave ? 28. Who were delegates, at this time, from 
South Carolina, to the continental congress ? 29. Wliat other enterprise was under- 
taken under Captain Lompricre ? 



176 HISTORY OP SOUTH CAROLINA. 

New Providence, and upon the high seas, the council of safety 
fitted out a sloop for this purpose, under Captain Lempriere. 
Cruising off St. Augustine, he captured one of the expected 
vessels — an armed brig, of which he had been in search. 
From her he procured a large supply of military stores and 
the desired gunpowder. He succeeded, though pursued by a 
superior force, in making the port of Beaufort, and safely stor- 
ing his spoils on shore. 

On the second of July, the British mail was seized by Dray- 
ton, of the secret committee, by which was obtained the corre- 
spondence designed for the governors of North and South Car- 
olina, and Georgia, and for Stuart, superintendent of Indian 
affairs. These despatches were important, as revealing the 
policy of the British ministry. Other letters, from some of the 
southern governors to Admiral Graves and General Gage, 
calling for sloops-of-war and British troops, to maintain their 
authority, were also intercepted at the same time. These were 
cunningly counterfeited by the committee, and the despatches 
made to say that no succor was needed. This ruse probably 
gained some respite for the South from the assaults of the 
enemy, and delayed her day of trial. 

While the committee in Charlestown were thus energetically 
working, the Germans in the interior were showing themselves 
disaffected to the revolutionists. George Wagner and Felix 
Long, two of their countrymen, were sent out to them from the 
city, with the hope that they might be pacified ; but, it was not 
easy to explain the case to them, and there were already among 
them certain influential persons, who M-ere busily working for 
the crown, under the auspices of the governor. We shall see, 
hereafter, that these active emissaries precipitated a brief but 
threatening civil war, in the interior, which, but for other and 
fortunate events, might have resulted in disaster of the most 
distressing character. 

Twenty-two leading persons of Charlestown, meanwhile, had 

80. What was seized on the second of July ? 81. What was ascertained by this 
seizure ? 32. What ruse was practised by the committee ? 88. What of the Dutch 
settlements in the interior ? 34. Who Avere sent to exhort them ? 85. With what re- 
sult? 86, Were there any in Charlestown who refused to sign the articles of associ- 
ation ? 



PROGRESS OF THE REVOLUTION. 177 

declined to sign the articles of association. The most of these 
were, or had been, officers of the crown. It was, finally, pro- 
posed to them to take an oath of neutrality, during the quarrel ; 
and, such as refused this oath, either left the province, or, dis- 
armed, were confined to the limits of Charlestown. 

The rangers, meanwhile, under Major Mayson, seized upon 
Fort Charlotte, on the Savannah river, Avhere they possessed 
themselves of a considerable armament ; great guns, powder, 
shot, and lead. This spoil v»'as borne away to the post of 
Ninety-six, where it was deposited, under the charge of Cap- 
tain Kirkland, with one company of rangers ; another company 
was left in garrison at Fort Charlotte. 

At this time, twentieth of June, 1775, the popular authori- 
ties were in possession of every fort or arsenal of the crown, 
in the province, except the single one of Fort Johnson, in the 
harbor of Charlestown. This fortress had been, as we remem- 
ber, captured before, as far back as 1765, when it became ne- 
cessary to seize upon the stamped paper. This obtained, and 
the sloop-of-war which brought the stamps being made to depart 
with them, under a threat of cannonade, the fort was re-surren- 
dered to the garrison. It was held, at this time, by a small 
command, and only needed a similar enterprise to secure its 
possession. But this measure was to be delayed a while longer, 
and in accordance with the gradual ripening of events. 

We require to resume our narrative of the affairs of the in- 
terior, where, under most artful treacheries, and the conflict of 
opinion, the excitement had been growing with mischievous in- 
fluence over the affairs of the country, and, especially, to the 
hopes of the revolutionary party. We have seen that the pow- 
der, arms, and munitions of war, taken at Fort Charlotte, had 
been carried to Ninety-six, and there deposited with a company 
of rangers, under Captain Moses Kirkland. 

Kirkland betrayed his trust. This man was a Scotchman, 
who had been, probably, less than nine years in the country. 

87. What was done with them ? 88. What capture was made by Major Mayson, of 
the rangers ? 39. Whither was the spoil carried ? 40. Of what had the popular au- 
thorities possession, on the twenty-sixth of June, 1775 ? 41. What was the condition 
of the int'^rior? 42. Who betrayed his trust? 48. Who was Kirkland ? 

8* 



178 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

He was busy, restless, and ambitious, and had acquired not a 
little influence over his section. 

It seems, that the council of safety, though making him cap- 
tain in his regiment, had rated his claims somewhat below his 
own standard. There was an old rivalry between himself and 
Major Mayson, who had received the very commission which he 
desired. He did not forgive the offence ; betrayed his charge 
into the hands of one Major Robinson, another Scotchman, and 
recent settler, who had been actively stirring up the loyalists 
of his section, and had framed articles of counter-association to 
those of the patriots. Robinson's proceedings were winked at 
by the colonel of his regiment, Fletchall, who, a determined 
loyalist at heart, was simply temporizing, during a transition 
period, and feeling his way, rather than choosing it. 

Mayson was lodged, by Robinson, in jail, charged with plun- 
dering the royal fortress ; he was, subsequently, suffered to go 
free, on bail, to answer at the approaching session. In a few 
days, Kirkland openly joined with Fletchall, Robinson, and 
others, in raising the king's standard. He carried off with him 
a troop of the regiment of rangers. 

Fletchall was soon at the head of fifteen hundred men, and 
was capable of overawing the country from the Broad to the 
Savannah rivers ; he did so, and greatly increased the disaffec- 
tion of the people in those precincts, the larger number of 
whom were foreigners and settlers within the preceding ten 
years. 

The loyalists, thus embodied, maintained a close correspond- 
ence with the royal governor; and, had he been an enterpri- 
sing leader — had he stolen out of the city, and made his way 
into the interior — used money, collected weapons, armed the 
red men, as well as the foreigners, by whom he would have 
found himself surrounded — Scotch, English, German — it 
would have been scarce possible for the patriotic party to have 
maintained the standard of revolution for a single campaign. 

44. What did he resent? 45. Into whose hands did he betray Mayson? 46. Who 
was Robinson ? 4T. What of Fletchall's conduct? 48. What was done with Mayson? 
49. Who raised the king's standard ? 50. What might the governor have done had 
bo been a man of enterprise' 



PROGRESS OF THE REVOLUTION. 179 

With a British fleet in the harbor, and along the coast, and 
thousands of loyalists in the interior, the revolutionists along 
the seaboard would have been crushed as between the upper 
and the lower millstone. 

Fortunately, Lord Campbell, though brave enough, was defi- 
cient in the necessary enterprise. 

But the affairs of the interior were sufficiently critical. His 
influence was exercised, if he did not give his presence ; and, 
it became necessary that the council of safety should take those 
steps, which ought to have been taken at an earlier period — 
should proceed to concihate the new settlements and settlers of 
the upper country. 

William Henry Drayton and the Reverend William Ten- 
nent were appointed to make a progress through the disaf- 
fected region, and explain to the people the causes of the dis- 
pute between the crown and colonies ; to settle disturbances, 
and produce a pacification and reaction, if possible. Drayton 
had, besides, secret powers to call upon the rangers and militia, 
where these could be found faithful, and had full discretion to 
employ force whenever necessary. 

We have already shown, in repeated instances, why the peo- 
ple of South Carolina were not homogeneous ; why they could 
not be one in popular sentiment ; why the motives and reasons 
for the quarrel should be found, in some sections, unintelligible 
to the masses. We may add that, at this period, there was 
very little sympathy between the people of the upper and lower 
country ; a fact not merely to be ascribed to the European char- 
acter of so large a portion of the province, but to the natural 
jealousies of poor and insulated settlements toward an affluent 
people, already in possession of wealth and importance. The 
common appeal of the loyalist leaders was to the vulgar preju- 
dices against rank and wealth, the haughty assumptions of the 
citizens and planters of the seaboard, and their free expenditure 
of the public money. The upper settlements had been little 
considered by the popular leaders, in the whole progress of the 
revolutionary proceedings ; had been, until a recent period, un- 

51. Who were sent to pacificate the upper country? 52. What secret powers had 
Drayton ? 5-". What wore tlie flifferences between the lower and the back country? 



180 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

represented in their congresses and public meetings; and, but 
few efforts had been made to conciliate the more talented and 
influential of their leading men. These were hurt and jealous. 
Such neglect had offended the self-esteem of many, and ren- 
dered others indifferent to the result. 

As yet, they were, as settlements, almost wholly unaffected 
by the oppressions of the crown, which were felt to be so oner- 
ous in the regions which cultivated large and valuable staples, 
and built and held shipping, and were engaged in manufactures 
and commerce ; and, when the leaders in the low country de- 
cided in favor of one class of public men in the disaffected re- 
gion, they naturally forced all the rivals of these preferred par- 
tics into active opposition. 

The loyalists possessed numerous citizens of talents and real 
worth, who might have been conciliated, at least, to acquiesce 
in the movement which they might yet refuse to lead. Such 
were Fletchall, the Cunninghams, Robinson, Kirkland, and 
many others : and these people had strong arguments for their 
neutrality, and even their hostile action. They were, mostly, 
born subjects of the British sovereign; born in Europe, natu- 
rally of loyal races, and had only been a few years in that coun- 
try which now called upon them to throw off British rule. 

The British government, until a recent period, had been 
known to South Carolina chiefly by its benefactions ; and at 
no period had the latter any such causes of complaint as 
formed the staple of grievances of the northern colonies, who 
were already known as manufacturers, and engaged in com- 
merce and the fisheries, and so rivals of Britain herself in the 
industrial arts. 

The causes of quarrel, on the part of South Carolina, might 
almost wholly be summed up in the denial of a few abstract 
popular principles. The duties on tea and stamped paper were 
not felt, regarding the amount ; but as the assertion of an au- 
thority adverse to the rights of the people and the province. 

54. What did.the leading men of the back country resent ? 55. What able men had 
the loyalists ? 56. What arguments had they against revolution ? 57. How had the 
British government been known to South Carolina ? 5S. How are the causes of quar- 
rel summed up between tlic crown and colony V 



PROGRESS OF THE REVOLUTION. 181 

British treasures, meanwhile, had helped them in their feeble- 
ness ; British power had protected them from savage and other 
foes ; its men, money, and munitions, had been yielded promptly 
to supply their need, or meet their emergencies. 

All these were arguments, appealing strongly to the new col- 
onists of the interior, which no subtle reasoning, however excel- 
lent, dealing only with abstract principles, could meet or over- 
come. They were wholly inefficient, in the ears of a simple 
people, satisfied with present securities, in opposition to the 
substantial advantages which had accrued to them from the 
connection with a powerful nation, and one which had, gener- 
ally, throughout the colony, been distinguished by the endear- 
ing terms of relationship — "the mother-country." 

South Carolina had, indeed, been a favorite plantation of the 
crown, and the reluctance of thousands to sever the friendly 
bands which had linked them together, was not less honorable 
to their principles, than natural to their affections. In respect 
to a large section of the province, the revolutionary movement 
was, undoubtedly, premature. The lack of adequate population, 
the lack of homogeneousness in that population ; their deficien- 
cies in the materiel as well as the personnel of war ; the feeble- 
ness of the frontier colony of Georgia ; the near neighborhood 
of the province of Florida, still faithful to the crown, and al- 
ready filling fast with refugee loyalists, driven from all the 
southern colonies ; these were all sufficient to prove the revolu- 
tionary movement premature, in the case of South Carolina. 
The argument, from policy, was clearly against the movement. 

No doubt that many of the loyalists were persons of little 
principle, and much more governed by their passion and preju- 
dice, than by any right reasoning ; but, that the people Avho 
were subsequently degraded, under the general and opprobrious 
term of " tories," w^ere, in many instances, moved only by an 
honest and loyal, if not a wise and just sense of duty, can not 
well be questioned. That they were behind the time — had 
made no such advances in the knowledge of the popular rights 
as had the popular leaders — and \vere too slow to recognise 

59. Why was it difficult to make these clear to the people ? 60. Was the revolution 
premature ? — and why ? 61. What is said of the loyalists generally ? 



182 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

the necessities of the country, its interests as well as rights, is 
equally undeniable. If the patriots might be reproached as 
being too warm, it is equally certain they were too cold ; if to 
the one party the shadows of coming evjents were beheld at too 
great a distance, to the other, the substance itself appeared lit- 
tle more than a shadow. Unhappily, the indiscretion of indi- 
viduals of both parties increased the differences between them, 
and the gulf through which they had to wade, to sympathy and 
union in the end, was one that dyed their garments in blood, 
the stains of which, to this day, are scarcely obliterated. 

The prompt and decisive measures of the seaboard, had, as 
we have shown, soon placed that section of the colony in a tol- 
erable state of defence. This done, the popular leaders had 
extended — but a little too slowly — their precautionary labors 
to the interior; but it was not now so easy, in many parts of 
the country, to persuade the people that such measures were 
necessary ; and the manner of proceeding, on the pai-t of some 
of the agents intrusted .with these measures, led to a suspicion 
among the people of the country, that their adversaries intended 
to dragoon them into compliance. 

This suspicion, artfully encouraged by certain emissaries of 
the royal cause, whom the forethought of Lord William Camp- 
bell had sent into the interior, aroused all that fierce spirit of 
independence, which repeated strifes and trials had made no 
less suspicious than active ; and, instead of signing the docu- 
ment by which the leaders of the lower country had pledged 
their lives and fortunes to each other, in a joint opposition to 
the royal authorities, they entered into counter-resolutions, just 
as resolute in expression, to oppose the patriots, to whom they 
ascribed motives and designs as dishonorable as they were un- 
founded- To remove these imputations, disabuse the ignorant, 
arouse the patriotic, teach the argument of the people against 
the usurpations of the crown, and conciliate or coerce, as cir- 
cumstances required, was the difficult duty of the commissioners. 

The first efforts of Drayton and Tennent, to soothe the dis- 

62. Into what equal extremes did loyalists and patriots fall ? 63. What suspicions 
were entertained by the people of the interior, and by wiioin fomented? 64. What 
did they resolve ? 65. How, and whither did Drayton and Tennent proceed ? 



PROGRESS OP THE REVOLUTION. 183 

contents of the interior, led them to the Dutch settlements of 
Saxe Gotta, on the Congaree. But the Dutch refused to 
meet them ; they had been tampered with, and taught to be- 
lieve that, to take part against the king would result in the for- 
feiture of all the grants of land which they had received in his 
name ; they were told, also, that the rangers were to be let 
loose upon them. These things terrified them. The rangers, by 
the way, were already collecting, and in camp, along with the 
commissioners. Some of the Dutch companies of Colonel 
Thompson's regiment were brought together ; but, a portion 
of them behaved mutinously, though subsequently quieted. 

But little was done in this quarter, in regard to the object 
had in view. The Dutch were simply soothed, for a while, not 
reconciled. 

Changing their scene of operations a few miles, the commis- 
sioners were more successful with another body of the same 
people, most of whom signed the articles of association. 

They were less successful at another Dutch settlement, on 
the Saluda, where they obtained but one signature. The ene- 
my had been before them. 

A Scotch trader, named McLaurin, influenced another settle- 
ment unfavorably, and the commissioners made no converts ; 
and so, of many other places. 

On the Enoree, at a great gathering, Robert Cunningham, 
one of the leading loyalists, was present ; and Brown, another, 
tvho had been subjected, for his insolent toryism in Georgia, to 
the penalty of tar and feathers. 

Here, the commissioners obtained some advantages with the 
people, in debate with the loyalist leaders. They then pro- 
ceeded to Colonel Fletchall's residence, at Fair Forest. He 
was found to be closely watched by Cunningham, Brown, and 
Robinson, who had him in keeping. 

But little was done here ; though the success of the commis- 
sioners was much greater everywhere, after they had left the 
Congaree. They foi'med volunteer corps of horse-rangers, wher- 

66. With what success, upon tlie Congaree, and among tlie Dutch? 67. On the 
Saluda? 68. On the Enoree? 69. Who met and argued with them? 70. To whoso 
residence did tliev g-ov 71. With what rt*ault? 



184 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

ever they found themselves strong enough to do so. Fletchall 
was indecisive — too wanting in character to resolve openly, 
yet too popular to be contemned. He was a tool in the hands 
of others. Robinson, Cunningham, Brown, vrere all decisive 
and daring men ; the former openly avowed himself as armed 
with a commission to raise troops for the king. Their passions 
were growing beyond restraint, and the commissioners them- 
selves were becoming irritable. The latter, feeling the temper 
of the loyalists, found it necessary to reinforce Fort Charlotte, 
making it a garrison of seventy men. They went on forming 
volunteer companies. 

The loyalist leaders were equally busy, but more secretly, in 
the same office. 

The progress of the commissioners carried them through all 
that portion of country which spreads from the Wateree and 
Catawba rivers, westwardly, to the Savannah ; and extends 
northwardly, from the Saluda to the Cherokee nation, and to 
the boundary between North and South Carolina. They had 
done much, perhaps, in all these regions, but not all that was 
necessary or hoped for. It was too late for full success. 

On the 23d of August, 1775, they again met the people — 
the loyalist leaders all present — at Foi-d's, on the Enoree. 
Here, the parties had nearly come into collision. They were 
all armed, and angry. Some of Fletchall's captains were won 
over by the commissioners ; but they got few fresh signatures. 

Their farther progress brought them next to the Savannall^ 
river, on their way to Ninety-six ; when the tidings suddenly 
reached them that the loyalists were already in arms, and 
marching on Fort Charlotte, and Augusta. This put an end 
to their farther efforts at pacification. Conciliation now was 
required to give way to coercion. 

Drayton at once asserted his secret powers, and called out 
the militia. Major Williamson, with three hundred men, were 

72. What was Fletchall ? 73. What is said of Robinson, Cunningham, and Brown V 
74. What plaee did Drayton reinforce? 75. Wliither did the progress of the commis- 
sioners carry them? 76. What had they done? 77. What is said of the meeting at 
Ford's, on the Enoree? 78. What tidings reached the commissioners on their way 
to Ninety-six? 79. What did T)rayton? SO. What officers took the field, and with 
what forces ' 



PROGRESS OF THE REVOLUTION. 185 

put in motion ; Colonel Thompson, with his rangers, and three 
hundred foot soldiers, and Colonel Richardson, with another 
force of three hundred men. These were ordered to march in 
.-uch directions as were indicated by the course of the loyalists. 
A proclamation was made, at the same time, denouncing Moses 
Kirkhind, who had assembled the insurgents, and calling upon 
all good citizens to put him down with the sword. 

The effect was good. Kirkland was paralyzed, disbanded 
his men, and fled to Charlestown, in disguise. Here he suc- 
ceeded in making his way on board the British sloop-of-war, 
Tamar. For the moment, the loyalists kept quiet, while the rev- 
olutionists grew more active. Volunteer companies increased, 
and we find, among their captains, for the first time, the name 
of Andrew Pickens, afterward the famous general of militia. 

But the paralysis of the loyalists was for the moment only. 
The flight of Kirkland did not discourage Cunningham and 
Brown ; they continued to collect troops. Drayton prepared 
to anticipate them, and advanced, with one hundred and twenty 
men and four swivels, upon Fletchall's quarters. He despatched 
a party to seize Robert Cunningham, the ablest of the loyalist 
leaders ; but he had quitted his house the day before. 

Drayton's force, increased by eighty volunteers, from Geor- 
gia, was now two hundred and twenty-five men. He was 
warned that the loyalists were about to march upon him, in 
strength. He prepared, after advising with Majors Mayson 
and Williamson, and Captain Hammond, to prepare for the 
enemy, however strong, and lay an ambush for his approach. 

But their preparations were made in vain. The loyalists 
were not yet prepared for the issue. Hearing of a camp of 
Fletchall, Drayton marched toward it. Both parties, mean- 
while, had been growing ; the loyalists already mustered twelve 
hundred ; the revolutionists were not quite a thousand. But, 
Fletchall's camp receded as Drayton's advanced ; this encour- 
aged Drayton, who thought it a good sign, and the time proper, 

81. What proclamation was made?^ 82. What was the effect on Kirkland, and what 
became of him ? 83. What did Cunningham and Brov/n ? 84. What did Drayton re- 
solve? 85. Upon whom did Drayton march? 86. 'What proclamation did lie now 
issue ? 



186 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

to issue another proclamation, denouncing the arts by which 
the people had been misled, and inviting the repentant to make 
terms with a power which proffered them safety and the secu- 
rity of their rights. 

Fletchall, and other malcontent leaders, were not unwilling 
to escape the extremities of war ; they presented themselves at 
Drayton's camp to treat of peace. Articles were signed be- 
tween them, which said, among other things, that the loyalists 
had no unfriendly designs against the congress or the colony ; 
that they never did mean to aid or assist the British, and prom- 
ised never, directly or indirectly, to do so ; in brief, that they 
only desired to be let alone, and, in this event, they would harm 
nobody. 

This pacification, though it bound only themselves, in a great 
measure, restored the quiet of the upper country, for a time at 
least. But Fletchell's proceedure did not bind the Cunning- 
hams, and others, who had not signed it, and did not meet their 
approbation. This was unfortunate. But one great effect Avas 
reached ; the faction was divided — broken ; there was dissen- 
tion and distrust among them. 

Drayton proceeded next to pacificate the Cherokees ; made 
them presents, and promises of presents ; and got their promises, 
also ; but with these, too, the enemy had been before him, and the 
British Indian agents, Stuart, Cameron, and others, were quite 
as able, with British presents, to undo all that the commission- 
ers could do, or had done. We shall see, hereafter, that all 
these pacifications were of brief duration. 

87. With what effect ? 8S. What was the substance of the treaty ? 89. Did it bind 
all the loyalists? 90. Whither did Drayton then go, and with what object? 91. Did 
he treat with the Cherokees ? 92. What is said of all these paciflcations? 



SEABOARD STRUGGLES. 187 



CHAPTER IV. 

SEABOARD STRUGGLES — CIVIL WAR IN THE BACK COUN- 
TRY THE SNOW-CAMP. 

The active proceedings of our commissioners in the interior, 
will equally show the spirit of the revolutionary party and the 
difficulties with which they had to contend. Their labors hav- 
ing reached the object contemplated, they returned to Charles- 
town, leaving the affairs of the country in better order than 
before, in consequence of that rallying of the whigs which had 
awed the loyalists into temporary submission. 

On the 10th of July, 1775, the general assembly was con- 
vened by Governor Campbell. This, it must be remembered, 
was under the regal authority, the shows of which were still 
maintained, though the real power of the province had been 
absorbed by the provincial or revolutionary congress ; but 
no business was done. The several houses and the governor 
were at cross-purposes — the greater part of the royal commons 
house being members either of the provincial congress, the 
council of safety, or the committee ; and all these were revolu- 
tionary bodies. This period was chosen for requiring all per- 
sons in the colony to sign the provincial association. Arthur 
Middleton, in general committee, moved to attach estates in case 
of the flight of the owners, and to excommunicate from all social 
privileges all persons who should refuse to sign the associa- 
tion. 

The popular commotions continued, with an occasional spec- 
tacle of tarring and feathering. The mob was active and angry. 

1. When did Governor Campbell convene the general assembly? 2. Where waa 
the real power of the province ? 3. What business was done ? 4. What were the 
people required to subscribe? 5. What resolutions were submitted by Arthur Mid- 
dleton ? 6. What of the popular commotion ? 



188 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

Governor Lord Campbell became angry, too, and a little appre- 
hensive. Dr. Milligan, chief surgeon of the British fur his 
majesty's forces in South Carolina, fled, when no one pursued. 
Middleton writes, at this time, of Charlestown : " The plebeians 
are for war — the noblesse perfectly pacific." A temporary dis- 
content among the volunteer companies of Charlestown filled 
the governor v.ith new hopes ; but they were pacified. 

The governor, meanwhile, continued his secret correspondence 
with the loyalists of the back country. By a clever ruse, his 
scheming was discovered. Arthur Middleton moved that he 
should J)e taken into custody. But for this decided measure 
the general committee were not quite prepared. They pre- 
ferred to temporize as long as they were permitted to do so. 
But they demanded of Campbell his late correspondence with 
the back country, his late despatches from England, and the 
surrender of the body of Moses Kirkland, then on board the 
Tamar. 

He refused to comply with any of their demands. 
The revolutionary committees, satisfied now that British troops 
were on their way to the province, determined upon more de- 
cisive action. They resolved to take possession of Fort John- 
son. The bastions of the town were manned (15th September, 
1775) by detachments of artillery, and the appearance of the 
city began to be that of a camp of vigilance. 

Meanwhile, Lord Campbell, with his secretary Jarvis, and a 
detachment from the crew of the sloop Tamar, under the cover 
of the night, took possession of Fort Johnson, dismounted the 
cannon from the platform, and thus sought to render them inca- 
pable of immediate service. But he had not spiked them, nor 
did they break off their trunnions. He and his party were for- 
tunate in escaping — the governor to the city, and the crew of 
the British sloop to their vessel, before the night was over. An 
hour later, and they would have been all sacrificed. Moultrie 
had already made his preparations for manning the fort, and 

7. Who fled ? 8. What did Middleton write of the people ? 9. What practices did 
the governor continue ? 10. What did Arthur Middleton move to do in respect to him ? 
11; What did the committee demand of the governor? 12. How did he reply ? 18. What 
did the revolutionary committees resolve and propose ? 14. "Wliat secret achievement 
was executed by Lord Campbell ? 



SEABOARD STRUGGLES. 189 

putting it in fighting order ; aiid, under his instructions, a de- 
tachment led by Colonel Motte, consisting of Captains Pinck- 
nej's, Elliott's, and Marion's companies, left the city for this 
purpose. They reached the fort, but too late to find an enemy 
in sufficient force for combat. They were allowed to take quiet 
possession, to disarm the small garrison that remained, and, at 
leisure, to restore the cannon to their places upon the plat- 
forms. 

This was done by daylight, and the guns promptly trained 
to bear upon the British armed vessels lying in the harbor — 
the Cherokee and Tamar. 

The next day, Lord Campbell prorogued the assembly ; and 
that very day fled to the shelter of the Tamar, in Rebellion 
roads, carrying with him the great seal of the province. His 
occupation was gone ! The province v»'as irretrievable. No 
laws had been passed by the present assembly during his ad- 
ministration ; and though his influence, in the interior, had been 
sufficiently mischievous, he had not proved himself the man 
to turn it to profitable account for his sovereign. 

Fort Johnson was soon recruited with troops from the city, 
and put in fighting order. Moultrie devised for it a flag — a 
blue ground with a single silver crescent in one corner. This 
was devised from the uniforms of the first and second regiments, 
which were of blue cloth, wMth a silver crescent in their caps. 

At sight of this flag, waving proudly from the walls. Lord 
Campbell despatched an officer from the ship-of-war, to demand 
its meaning — to know by what authority the fort had been 
seized, and what authority held it 

He was answered briefly — " By authority of the council of 
safety." 

The Cherokee and Tamar then made a demonstration of 
attack, and presented themselves within point-blank shot before 
the fort ; but withdrew without giving fire. They found them- 

15. What was done by the detachment of Moultrie the same night? 16. Who led 
this detachment ? 17. In what condition did they place the fort ? IS. What was done 
next day by Lord Campbell '? 10. What was done during his administration ? 20. "What 
is said of his influence V 21. What flag did Moultrie devise for Fort Johnson? and 
why the design ? 22, What was Campbell's demand on seeing this flag? and how 
answered ? 



190 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

selves fully prepared for, and retired peaceably to their former 
anchorage. 

Fort Johnson was strengthened. It was determined to for- 
tify Sullivan's island also, and to sink hulks in the channel, pre- 
venting the ingress of an assailing fleet. 

But, to do this, it was first necessary to dislodge and drive 
out the British sloops-of-war. A new water-battery was made 
on James's island, and bastions and fortifications rapidly fol- 
lowed in other quarters — the resolve being taken to fortify all 
the approaches to the city. 

This brings us to September, 1775. "William Henry Dray- 
ton succeeded Henry Laurens as president of Congress, and 
about the same time the disquiets of the upper country had 
been renewed. Robert Cunningham for seditious language, had 
been arrested by Major Williamson, and, with others, sent to 
Charlestown jail for safe-keeping. 

This proceeding aroused his brother, Patrick Cunningham, 
and he, with some sixty followers, pursued, in the hope to res- 
cue Robert from the sheriff. They failed to do this, but suc- 
ceeded in another performance, in which they hurt the province 
much more seriously. 

When Drayton made a treaty with the Cherokees, he agreed 
to send them powder. This had been done. Patrick Cunning- 
ham, failing to rescue his brother, encountered the guard with 
the powder, seized the guard, and carried off the powder. 

This, however small in itself, was a serious evil. The en- 
gagement with the Cherokees had not been kept. Powder was 
in great requisition, and this supply armed the upper-country 
insurgents for a season. 

It became necessary that the disaffected whites and the red 
men should be equally kept quiet, in prospect of that assault that 
was threatened from Britain. The rangers, under Richardson, 
Williamson, and others, were set in motion against Cunningham. 

23. What (lid the Cherokee and Tamar ? 24. What measures were taken against 
these British vessels ? 25. To what period have these events brought us? 2(5. Who 
succeeded Laurens as president of congress? 27. What discontents were renewed, 
where, and why ? 28. Who was made prisoner ? 29. What did Patrick Cunning- 
ham ? 30. What mischiefs were likely to follow his proceeding? 81. Wliat became 
necessary ? 



SEABOARD STRUGGLES. 191 

Meanwhile, tlie council of safety was endeavoring to increase 
the securities of Charlestown. It was resolved, as we have- 
seen, to sink hulks to obstruct the passages of Marsh channel and 
Hog-island creek. Schooners were purchased for the purpose. 
But, before this could be done, it was necessary to provide a 
naval force sufficient for the encounter with the British sloops- 
of-tvar, and to prevent them from interfering with the work of 
closing the channels. A schooner, called the Defence, Captain 
Tuffts, armed with ten guns, and a complement of seventy men, 
was prepared for this purpose. Drayton, president of the coun- 
cil, went on board as chief in command. The Tamar and 
Cherokee sloops-of-war — the one of sixteen guns, the other 
six — endeavored to arrest the performance of the w^ork ; but 
the hulks were sunk. The British sloops and the " Defence " 
exchanged frequent shots with some effect. After awhile, the 
British drew off. Fort Johnson took a part in the affair, and 
the troops of Charlestown assembled at their several posts in 
expectation of worse trials. 

The war was thus begun (11th November, 1775), and the 
affair was quite spirited. The next day was Sunday, but did 
not prevent the patriots from doing business. They met in 
council, and resolved to take the merchant ship Prosper into 
the service of the colony, and man her, also, against the British 
sloops. 

Other resolves were made for the erection of batteries. A 
regiment of artillery was voted, to consist of three hundred 
men. Dictatorial powers were conferred on a council consist- 
ing of the president (Drayton), Colonel Pinckney, and Thomas 
Heyward, jr. On the 16th November, 1775, the congress 
elected a new council of safety, consisting of Charles Pinck- 
ney, Henry Laurens, Henry Middleton, Thomas Ferguson, 
Arthur Middleton, Thomas Heyward, jr., William H. Drayton, 
Rawlins Lowndes, Thomas Bee, Benjamin Elliott, James Par- 

32. AVhat steps were taken by the council of safety in the harbor? 33. What 
schooner was employed ? — how manned and commanded ? 34. What was the result 
of the attempt to sink the hulks ? 85. Who drew off? 86. When did this battle take 
place ? 87. What did the council do on Sunday ? 38. What resolves were passed ? 
39. What powers were conferred on Drayton, Pinckney, and Heyward ? 40. When 
was the new council of safety elected ? 41. Of what persona did it consist ? 



192 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

sons, D. 01ji>liant, and Thomas Savage. Henry Laurens was 
chosen president. At this time, and with the immediate pros- 
pect of a war with Britain, there was not a single piece of gold 
or silver in the treasury. It had a paper currency to the 
amount of £126,500. 

The insurrection in the back country was increasing. The 
whole militia of Charlestown was embodied. The ship 
Prosper was manned, and Drayton took the command. The 
forces under Colonels Powell, Rothmaler, Bull, Roberts, and 
Colonel Richardson, all under the latter, were ordered to repair 
to the scene of disaffection. Major Williamson, and the loyal- 
ist insurgents respectively, had been for some time gathering 
their forces. The insurgents were greatly helped by the ac- 
cession of Colonel Richard Pearis, an influential man, who, 
having been overlooked by the revolutionists, had joined the 
discontents. He inculcated the slander that the powder seized 
by Cunningham w^as meant to subsidize the red men against the 
loyalists. 

Williamson seems to have been dilatory, and was only roused 
up when the insurgents were on the march to attack him. He 
then proposed to meet them on the march, and attack them in 
the night, but was overruled by a council of war. He then 
took ground at Savage's plantation, near Ninety-Six. Here 
he enforted himself, hurriedly and imperfectly with fence-rails 
chiefly, and was soon after besieged — his force consisting of less 
than six hundred ; that of the insurgents nineteen hundred. 

There was some sharp fighting between the parties ; subse- 
quently they treated — Williamson agreeing to surrender the 
fo*t, but not his people ; and both sides consenting to refer their 
disputes to Lord AVilliam Campbell, who was in no condition to 
decide anything. 

Williamson and his patriots were fortunate in such an ar- 

42. What was the state of the treasury ? 43. "What was the condition of the back 
country ? 44. What officers and troops, and under whose command, were ordered to 
the scene of trouble ? 45. Wliat parties had been respectively gathering their forces ? 
46. What acquisition had the insurgents made ? 4". Who was Colonel Pearis? and 
how influenced ? 48. Where did W^illlamson enfort himself, and how ? 49. W^hat 
was his force, and by what numbers was he besieged? 50. What fighting followed, 
and what treatv? 



THE SNOW-CAMP. 193 

rangement, considering their want of provisions and the ine- 
quality of numbers. But Robinson, who commanded the other 
side, had an unmanageable and disorderly body ; hence his 
readiness to treat and his favorable terms. He was, perhaps, 
unable to render his troops effective. A few were killed on 
both sides, and some twenty or thirty wounded. 

But the affair did not end here. The insurgents were in ex- 
ultation and insolent, because of their success, and continued 
embodied. Richardson marched against them. His force soon 
reached three thousand men. Their approach overawed the 
insurgents, who gradually began to disband. Several of their 
chief men were made prisoners — Fletchall, Pearis, and others. 
Fletchall, who was no hero, was caught in a cave ; the others, 
in similar hiding-places. These were all sent to the Charles- 
town jail. 

The junction of Richardson with Williamson and others, in- 
cluding a few Georgians, made the army four thousand strong. 
A detachment, under Colonel Thompson, proceeded against Pat- 
rick Cunningham, and had nearly surrounded his camp, when 
they were discovered. The insurgents were overcome at a blow. 
Cunningham made his escape on a fleet horse. A few of the 
loyalists were killed, and it was with difficulty that Thompson 
prevented a general massacre. 

This campaign, which had for the present achieved all its ob- 
jects, was a terribly severe one. The troops were without tents 
or covering — almost without shoes. Provisions were scarce, 
and they found themselves in a snow-storm of three days. The 
campaign was ever afterward known as the snow-camp. 

Richardson disbanded his troops on Christmas day. Their 
holidays were gloomy ; but the insurrection was again scotched ; 
but only scotched ! Except Robinson, Cunningham, and M'Lau- 
rin, no considerable leader escaped apprehension. 

51. What caused Eobinson to grant Williamson such terms? 53. What were the 
casualties? 53. Did the insurrection end then? 54. Who next marched against the 
insurgents, and with what force? 55. What leaders were taken? 56. How many- 
men did the patriots finally number? 5T. Who next did they proceed against? 
— with what success? 58. What was the character of this campaign, and what was 
it called ? 59. When were the patriots disbanded ? 60. What loyalists leaders of note 
escaped ? 



194 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

In this campaign, we find the names of Pickens and Sumter 
— the latter acting as adjutant-general. 

In February, 1776, the measure for disarming the insur- 
gents was suspended, as they appeared to be subdued ; and in 
March a declaration of amnesty and pardon was made, with a 
few exceptions. 

The object was now to conciliate the people who had been 
pardoned. Pains were taken to this end. Many of the loyal- 
ists subscribed to the terms proposed by the congress. Some, 
who did not among the leaders, abandoned the colony and fled 
to Florida. There they remained, brooding over their wrongs, 
until a strong British army penetrated Georgia and Carolina, 
when they emerged from their hiding-places, and formed an 
auxiliary portion of the invading army, ranking rather with its 
red allies than its white. 

61. What distinguished names of revolutionary heroes do we find in this campaign ? 
62. What was done February, 1776 ? 63. What now was the object of the revolution- 
ary party ? 64. With what success pursued ? 65. Who fled to Florida ? 66. When 
did they return ? 



THE PROVINCE BECOMES THE REPUBLIC. 195 



CHAPTER V. 

THE PROVINCE BECOMES THE REPUBLIC. 

The revolutionists of Carolina had thus, to all appearances, 
quieted their domestic dissentions. It was now necessary that 
they should resume their preparations against the approaches 
of the more formidable external enemy. The seaboard was 
now the scene of danger and excitement. That the province 
should escape, without fierce handling, was next to impossible ; 
the provocation had been too great for pardon. Already had the 
British sloops-of-war, in Charlestown harbor, received an acces- 
sion to their force in the arrival of the Scorpion ship. Captain 
ToUemache. He was for attacking Fort Johnson and the city 
at once ; but, his colleagues declined the experiment ; they all 
knew of larger forces on the way, and did not despise their ene- 
mies, as Captain ToUemache avowedly did. But they harassed 
the trade of the place, and were a perpetual threat and danger, 
seizing upon vessels arriving, appropriating their contents, and 
giving refuge to runaway negroes. 

To rid the harbor of these guests was the eager desire of the 
patriots. The ship Prosper was put in charge of Drayton ; 
a battery was raised on Haddrell's point, in a single night, 
and, guns were mounted by the dawn. A few shot from the 
eighteen-pounders, thus put in position, soon compelled the 
men-of-war to fall down to Sullivan's island. The harbor 
grew too hot to hold them ; they were allowed neither food nor 
water ; and they put to sea a few days after. 

The provincials then proceeded to erect a fort on Sullivan's 

1. Where was now the scene of danger ? 2. What accessions of force had tlie Brit- 
ish made? 3. What did Captain ToUemache propose? 4. How did the British ships 
trouble the harbor? 5. What measures were talcen by the provincials? 6. What wa3 
the effect of their eighteen-poirnd shot? 7. Where did the provincials proceed to 
erect a fort? 



196 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

island, which they continued, though slowly, to work on at in- 
tervals. 

They had much to do. The civil affairs of the province re- 
quired the nicest management. Colonel Gadsden introduced 
into the council chamber a flag, such as was to be used in the 
American navy, with a yellow field, and a rattlesnake, livelily 
represented in coil, and ready to strike, with these words be- 
neath, — " Don't tread on me !" He also introduced Paine's 
pamphlet called " Common Sense," which declared, as he did, for 
the absolute independence of the colonies. The congress was not 
quite prepared for this, and the speech produced a sensation. 

But, nevertheless, the spirit of independence was active. On 
the 11th of February, 1776, a committee of eleven was chosen 
to report a plan of government ; this committee, consisting of 
Charles C. Pinckney, John Rutledge, Charles Pinckney, Hen- 
ry Laurens, Christopher Gadsden, Rawlins Lov/ndes, Arthur 
Middleton, Henry Middleton, Thomas Bee, Thomas Lynch, jr., 
and Thomas Heyward, jr., decidedly among the ablest men in 
the province. But, we see that the upper country still lacks 
representation ; it might have been better policy to assign to 
that and to the middle country a position in the popular coun- 
cils, even though the controlling vote was still reserved to the 
seaboard. 

On the 19th of February, apprehending, and with good rea- 
son, early invasion, ten hundred and fifty of the country militia 
were ordered to be drafted, for the defence of the city. A few 
days after, the military establishment was decreed to be in- 
creased by two rifle regiments, one of seven, the other of five 
hundred men. Of one of these, Isaac Huger was made colonel, 
the other was given to Thomas Sumter, lieutenant-colonel com- 
mandant, with William Henderson as major ; and these regi- 
ments were ranked as fifth and sixth of the provincials in the 
colony's service. Paul Trapier was made captain of a company 
of artillery, at Georgetown, and William Harden of the Beaufort 

8. "What flag did Colonel Gadsden introduce? 9. "What pamphlet? — and with what 
efifect? 10. For what purpose was a commitlee chosen, 11th of Febi-uary, 1776? 
11. "Who were the committee ? 12. What is said of the exclusion of the back country ? 
13. What decree was issued, 19th of February, and how was the military establish- 
ment increased? 14. Who were put in command of the new regiments? 



THE PROVINCE BECOMES THE REPUBLIC. 197 

artillery. A constitutional post, or mail, was established, in rec- 
ognition of a recommendation of the continental congress. On 
the 6th of March, there remained in the treasury, but three 
hundred thousand pounds, paper currency. Seven hundred 
and fifty thousand pounds more were voted, in regard to the 
exigencies of the province. 

While the provincial congress was debating the terms of a 
constitution for the state — preparing to shake off all the forms 
of dependency upon Britain, news were brought of the act of 
the British parliament (December 21, 1775), which authorized 
the capture of American ships and property — which, briefly, 
put all the rebellious colonies under the ban of war. 

This act encouraged the independent members of the con- 
gress, and silenced the dubious and timid. The members pro- 
ceeded to act with decision. A British ship in the harbor, 
laden with sugars, was seized and confiscated, and the amount, 
nearly fifty thousand pounds, placed in the colonial treasury. 

On the 24th of March, 1776, John Rutledge, from the com- 
mittee to prepare a plan of government, submitted a report or 
preamble, and constitution, which was adopted. 

This constitution shook off substantially the rule of Britain, 
and converted the province into a republican state ! Under 
this constitution, the provincial congress became the general 
assembly of South Carolina, with all the powers of sovereignty, 
as derived from the people. The representation recognised 
twenty parishes, and ten districts or counties. The executive 
and judicial officers were the president and commander-in- 
chief; the chief justice and assistant judges ; the attorney-gen- 
eral ; the ordinary, and three commissioners of the treasury. 

John Rutledge was elected president and commander-in- 
chief; Henry Laurens, vice-president ; William Henry Dray- 
ton, chief justice ; Thomas Bee, John Mathews, and Henry 
Pendleton, assistant judges ; Alexander Moultrie, attorney-gen- 

15. Wliat sum remained in the treasury on the Cth of March? — and what addi- 
tional sum was voted ? 16. What British act influenced the proceedings of the con- 
gress? 17. How did it affect all parties? 18. What was done with a British ship in 
the harbor ? 19. What was done on the 24th of March ? 20. What did the provincial 
congress become ? 21. What was the allotted representation ? 22. What officers 
were elected under the constitution ? 



198 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

eral, etc. The legislative council consisted of Charles Pinck- 
ney, Henry Middleton, Richard Richardson, Rawlins Lowndes, 
Le Roy Hammond, Henry Laurens, David Olyphant, Thomas 
Ferguson, George Gale Powell, Stephen Bull, Thomas Bee, 
Joseph Kershaw, and Thomas Shubrick. The names in italics 
were from the middle and hack country. 

The legislature proceeded to do business as if they had never 
known a king. 

The officers of the regular government of South Carolina — 
the first formed hy any of the American colonies — proved 
themselves wise and efficient. They resolved to communicate 
with Britain only through the continental congress ; magistrates 
were appointed ; the courts of law were re-opened ; justice re- 
ceived her robes, and authority its sword ; and William Henry 
Drayton, in his first charge to the grand jury, a famous pro- 
duction, anticipated the v>^hole Declaration of Independence, as 
adopted subsequently by the continental congress. 

We must not omit to notice, in passing, that, during these 
proceedings in South Carolina, succors were sent to Georgia, 
where hostilities had taken place, also. Colonel Bull, with 
five hundred Carolinians, Major Bourquin, with a smaller de- 
tachment, were active and useful participants in the first strug- 
gles of the Georgians, in throwing oBT the foreign government 
and meeting their assaults. In North Carolina, the intrigues 
of the governor (Martin), brought about a similar insurrection 
among the people of that colony, as had been produced in 
South Carolina, by the machinations of Campbell ; and the 
insurgents there were defeated also. 

The die of revolution was thus solemnly cast. We have seen 
what were the resources, in men and money, what the degree 
of harmony existing between the several sections of the state, 
and we may readily estimate for ourselves what were the pros- 
pects of her success in maintaining a conflict with Great Brit- 
ain ; single-handed, none of the colonies could have done it ; 

23. Who constituted the legislative council ? 24. "What colony of America formed 
the first independent constitution? 25. What did the new government resolve? 
26. What first charge was made to the grand jury ? 27. How did South Carolina help 
Georgia ? 28. What is said of North Carolina ? 29. What is said of the power of any 
single colf>ny to resist Britain ? 



THE PROVINCE BECOMES THE REPUBLIC. 199 

and South Carolina was, next to Georgia, one of the feeblest. 
The hope of the colonies lay in their union, their faithful sup- 
port of one another, prompt succor, wilHng self-sacrifice ; by 
which, alone, could they baffle the efforts of a power like Brit- 
ain ; compelling her to scatter her strength along a vast coast, 
and over a vast forest-country, and so extend her arms, as to 
leave them constantly liable to surprise and defeat. 

The population of South Carolina, as well as most of the 
other colonies, was greatly exaggerated by the estimates of 
congress. The object of this estimate was to impress, equally 
upon friends and foes, the notion of their strength. Thus, the 
thirteen colonies, supposed to be three and a half millions, at 
the opening of the war, were found, at the close of it, by actual 
census; to be considerably less than three millions. 

South Carolina was estimated to contain ninety-three thou- 
sand whites, when she could not possibly have had sixty thou- 
sand ; when, in fact, her own writers rated her at forty thou- 
sand in 1775, and, during the five years preceding 1776, she 
had very little increase, and, most probably, a decrease. Take 
a single illustration: — In 1775, when, of course, every effort 
was made to make her numerical resources as great as possible, 
she could number but thirteen regiments of militia ; allowing to 
each of these the usual complement in that day, of five hundred 
men, and we have seven thousand five hundred men ; add to these 
the regulars, enlisted after the organization of the congress, say 
three regiments and a battalion, the former six hundred and 
the latter three hundred and fifty, and you have twenty-one 
hundred to add to the former sum; ten thousand men, in brief, 
was the whole disposable force in South Carolina, when she 
threw down the gauntlet to the power of Great Britain. 

North Carolina, with twice the number of whites, and a far 
inferior negro population, might bring fifteen thousand into the 
field, and this is a liberal estimate ; while the whole disposable 
force of Georgia, according to the representations of her chief 

80. Which were the feeblest colonies ? 31. In what lay the hope of all ? 32. What 
of the estimated population of all the colonies? 33. What was the estimate of South 
Carolina? 34. What was probably the true estimate? 85. What was her militia force 
in 1775 ? 86. What is the estimate made of her strength in 1 776 ? 87. What of North 
Carolina and Georgia ? 



200 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

men, was but two thousand soldiers. It is clear that these fee- 
ble provinces could only hope for safety, in the full sense enter- 
tained by other communities, of the common necessity ; their 
unselfish co-operation, the promptness of their succor, the liber- 
ality of their appropriations, and the good conduct of her own, 
and their chief men. It was in this latter respect that South 
Carolina was particularly strong, and it was their devotion, tal- 
ents, and extraordinary exertions, that led to the subsequent 
overrating of her resources for defence. 

Having quieted their domestic difficulties, the popular leaders, 
now under the sanction of a regular government, resumed their 
preparations against their British assailants. Batteries were 
constructed at Georgetown, and other places ; a fort and maga- 
zine were established at Dorchester, which became a rendezvous 
for the country troops. Charlestown was a garrison. The pal- 
metto fort, on Sullivan's island, was begun by Moultrie, which 
continues to bear his name : even before completion it was 
destined to be identified for ever with his military reputation. 
Arms and the munitions of war were gleaned and gathered 
from every possible source. Lead was taken from the house- 
tops and churches, to be run into bullets. Vessels were im- 
pressed and manned as men of war. For sailors, a bounty was 
offered. Negroes were haled from the plantations to help throw 
up defences ; and, without rashness or exultation, but sufficient 
enthusiasm and firmness, the citizens of the new state looked 
to the hour of bloody trial as one which they could not escape, 
which they should not wish to escape, and which must, of ne- 
cessity, be at hand. The seeds of revolution had been sown 
two years before ; the fruits were now to be gathered, and with 
crimson hands, as from the wine-press. But we must reserve 
the grapd openings of the drama to another book and chapter. 

88. In what was South Carolina strong ? 89. Where were batteries, and forts, etc., 
erected? 40. What was Dorchester? 41. What Charlestown ? 42. Where the Pal- 
metto fort? 43. How were arms, men, and munitions, procured ? 44. How were the 
negroes employed ? 45. What was the temper of the people at the approach of dan- 
ger? 



BATTLE OF FORT SULLIVAN. 201 



BOOK V. 

THE REVOLUTION IN SOUTH CAROLINA. 



CHAPTER I. 

BATTLE OF FORT SULLIVAN. 

The prowess of the infant republic was shortly to be tried. 
She was required to go through the usual baptism of free states 
— that of fire and blood. Her people had been particularly 
forward in asserting their rights and liberties, and in provoking 
the anger of the mother-country. They had lacked prudence, 
no doubt ; but they were full of spirit. In fact, the spirit of the 
province was far beyond her strength, and led her not only to 
the exaggeration of her strength, but to a partial disregard of 
her real resources. Of these she had not been sufficiently 
economical — had been neglectful — as we have seen in her too- 
late attention to the task of conciliating her new population of 
the back country. 

These were only quieted upon the surface. For a time, there 
was a general quiet in the state, of which the president and 
privy council took advantage, to improve its strength and the 
preparations for its defence. It was fortunate, indeed, that the 
administration was now concentrated, and in a single hand. There 
was no dissenting voice — no confusion of council. John Rut- 
ledge, as president of the republic, in his best vigor, was ade- 
quate to its emergencies. 

The interval of repose was not of long duration. Accounts 
were received, early in May, announcing a British fleet off the 

L What was the prospect before the Carolinians ? 2. What had been their errors? 
8. Were the discontents quieted ? 4 What was fortunate in the administration of tho 
governnaent? 5. V^'^hat accounts were received ? 



202 HISTORY OF SOUTH- CAROLINA. 

coast of North Carolina. Now, the very same reasons which 
had arrayed a large portion of the Carolinians in opposition to 
their countrymen, had provoked the especial indignation of the 
British government. The conduct of CaroHna was regarded 
as particularly ungracious. She was selected, therefore, as 
especially deserving of chastisement. Her sympathj^ with the 
wrongs of Massachusetts, rather than any injuries done to her- 
self, had been the true cause of her taking part in the conflict. 
She had few, if any, of those occasions for quarrel which 
brought the people of the North into collision with those of 
Europe. She had no manufactories to maintain in opposition 
to those of England — she had no shipping or seamen which 
could enter into competition with that marine by means of which 
Great Britain indulged a fond ambition to rule the waves. She 
provided the raw material which the other manufactured, and 
she received the manufactured goods in exchange for her pro- 
ductions. The intercourse was simple enough between them, 
and the occasions for conflict were few and unimportant. 

The overweening arrogance of British officers and officials, 
by offending the self-esteem of her sons — a proud and ambi- 
tious race — may be enumerated among these occasions ; and 
the jealousies engendered between the troops of the province and 
those of the mother-country, which led to the affair between 
Colonels Grant and Middleton, recorded in a previous chapter, 
were as keenly felt and remembered as they were warmly in- 
dulged at the time of their provocation. These, no doubt, con- 
tributed much more effectually than the duties on stamps or tea, 
to place South Carolina in that attitude of defiance which goaded 
the mother-country to vengeance. It was soon apparent that 
the young repubhc would be required to put in exercise her 
best energies and her utmost manhood. 

The British fleet of Sir Peter Parker was "a formidable one, 
including a large body of land forces, under Major- General 
Clinton. To help South Carolina, the continental congress had 

6. How was the condiTct of South Carolina regarded by the British government ? 
7. What had been the influence prompting her to revolution? 8. Vv^hat reasons were 
there why she should not revolt? 9. What evil influence is ascribed to the conduct 
of British officials? 10. What fleet and army now threatened her? 



BATTLE OP FORT SULLIVAN. 203 

ordered a body of Virginians and North Carolinians to her aid, 
under the command of Maior-General Charles Lee. Precedino- 
him, came Brigadier-General Armstrong, a man of moderate 
abilities, who took temporary command of the troops in the 
vicinity of Charlestown. 

Early in June, Major-General Charles Lee arrived — a 
man of unquestionable talents, but irregular, if not unprinci- 
pled ; mercurial, selfish, vain, and desperately ambitious. As 
a colonel of cavalry, Lee might have done, and did, some 
brilliant things ; as a commander of armies, he seems to have 
been incapable. But his career is to be looked for in other his- 
tories. On the 9 th of June, Rutledge, the president of the col- 
ony, formally invested him with the chief military command of 
the threatened city and its precincts. 

Lee was immediately busy with a feverish restlessness. He 
had thousands of projects, and covered the shores of the city 
with cannon and the streets ys\\h jieches, or small redoubts. In 
the little fortress on Sullivan's island, he had no faith, and wouM 
have abandoned it at once, but for the determined resistance of 
Rutledge. To Moultrie, the latter wrote — "I will sooner cut 
off ray right arm than write you such an order." When Lee 
told Moultrie that the British fleet would knock his fort about 
his ears in half an hour. Moultrie replied, with great cool- 
ness, " Then we will fight them behind the ruins, and still pre- 
vent their landing." 

There is no doubt that Lee was correct in his estimate of 
the value of Fort Sullivan as a place of defence ; but he did 
not take into his estimate the blind insolence and self-sufficiency 
of the British commanders. Their error was in stopping de- 
liberately to do battle with a little fortress which could not ma- 
terially have impeded their progress, and which, if conquered, 
did not, in the slightest degree, help them to the conquest of the 
city. Their battles would then require to begin anew. They 
should have clapped on all sail and passed the fort, with favor- 
ing winds and tides, without exchanging a shot. They might 

11. What lielp and generals were sent to South Carolina ? 12. What is said of Lee ? 
13. What was Lee's opinion of Fort Sullivan ? 14. What said Eutledge? 15. What 
Moultrie? 16. What was the error of the British commodore ? 



204 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

have suffered in sails and rigging, with possibly a few shot in 
their hulls, but the damage would have been comparatively 
slight and the danger soon over. 

But the commodore. Sir Peter Parker, no doubt thought, with 
Lee, that the Americans would be driven from their guns at a 
single broadside, with their ruined battlements tumbling about 
their ears. He risked unnecessarily, through mere insolence of 
strength, the fleet and the whole expedition upon a little wooden 
and sand fortification, w^hich presented the most insignificant 
mark for his cannon. 

Fort Sullivan was a simple square, with a bastion at each 
angle, and was large enough, when finished, to contain one 
thousand men. It was built of palmetto logs, laid in sections, 
one upon the other, the parallel lines being sixteen feet apart. 
They were bound together at intervals with timber, dovetailed 
and bolted into the logs. The space between the parallel lines 
was filled with sand. The walls thus rudely raised were ten 
feet above the platform ; and these were raised upon pillars of 
brick. Such was the plan of this fort ; but it was unfinished 
when the hour of action arrived. It presented only a walled 
front to the enemy on the southeastern side, looking out upon 
the channel, and partly upon the southwestern side, looking to 
the city. The northeastern and northwestern sections were 
unfinished. 

To close up the places thus exposed, some temporary struc- 
tures of plank were employed, which would help the defence 
simply against escalade. Connected with the front angle of 
each rear bastion, these lines, which military men call cavaliers, 
were thrown up right and left of the fort for a certain, but small, 
distance. Each of these was mounted with three tv/elve-pound- 
ers. The fort itself was mounted with twenty -six cannon, con- 
sisting of nine French twenty-pounders, three English eighteen- 
pounders, and fourteen twelve-pounders ; of all these only 
twenty guns could be brought to bear at one time upon the 
enemy. The flag waved from the southeast bastion. 

East of Fort Sullivan, which occupied the most southerly 

IT, How ig Fort Sullivan described ? 18. What were its cannon ? — "Where the flag ? 



BATTLE OF FORT SULLIVAN. 205 

point of the island, directly covering the channel, there was a 
breastwork manned by a lieutenant and a quarter-guard, at a 
point whepe the island was most narrow. 

At the northeastern extremity of the island, breastworks 
had been also erected, about two miles from Fort Sullivan. 
These w^ere defended by one eighteen-pounder and a six-pounder 
brass field-piece. This position was maintained by Colonel 
WiUiam Thompson, of the third regiment of rangers, with 
seven hundred and eighty men in all, consisting of the third 
regiment of South Carolina rifles, three hundred men ; Colonel 
Horry, with two hundred South Carolinians ; the Raccoon 
(South Carolina) company of rifles ; fifty militia men of South 
Carolina, a small detachment of artillery (city), and two hun- 
dred North Carolina regulars under Colonel Clark. 

Thompson's position was among a cluster of barren sand-hills, 
overlooking " the breach," an arm of the sea, which the British, 
under Clinton, were preparing to cross, and facing the western 
extremity of Long island, of which they had taken full pos- 
session. 

The whole of the British land-forces — three thousand men, 
under Major-General Clinton — were on Long island. Clin- 
ton had with him Earl Cornwallis and Brigadier-General 
Vaughan. Here he had thrown up works and mounted them ; 
had gathered boats and sloops and schooners, and was busied in 
the preparations to cross to Sullivan's, and take Fort Sullivan 
in the rear, as soon as Sir Peter Parker should begin the action 
in front. 

Having shown what were the plans of the enemy, and what 
the immediate defences of the island, it may be well to state 
that, opposite to Long and Sullivan's, but in the rear, a force was 
posted, under Brigadier- General Armstrong, at Haddrell's and 
along the main, consisting of five hundred Virginia regulars ; 
six hundred North Carolina regulars ; the fifth. South Carolina 
rifles, two hundred and sixty-eight ; sixth South Carolina rifles, 

19. What other fortifications east of Fort Sullivan ? 20. How was that on the east- 
ern part of the island manned and defended ? 21. What force had Colonel Thomp- 
son? 22. What was his position? 23. Where were the British land-forces? — and 
under whom ? 24. What troops occupied Haddrell's point and the contiguous shores y 



206 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

one hundred and sixty; and a militia artillery of forty men — in 
all a force of more than fifteen hundred troops. 

The defence of the city proper, Major- General Lee reserved 
to his own command. Here he concentrated most of his ener- 
gies, never supposing that the petty fortress of Sullivan's could 
prove any obstacle in the way of a well-appointed and very 
powerful British fleet ; and most probably supposing that the 
ships would never stop deliberately to engage it, but content 
themselves with giving it a contemptuous shot in passing. 

Meanwhile, Rutledge was present everywhere, at fort and 
city, stimulating and encouraging the troops and people, and 
hurrying the archives, the printing-presses, women and chil- 
dren, such as could and were willing to depart, into the country. 

The city lay under arms. All the stores along the wharves 
were levelled, and batteries of heavy cannon took their places. 
The opinions of Lee, heedlessly expressed, naturally affected 
all classes ; and they waited the moment when. Fort Sullivan 
silenced, they should require to brace themselves up to the final 
struggle. 

Lee w^as so satisfied of the uselessness of Fort Sullivan, that 
he withdrew from it half the garrison and half the gunpowder, 
a most mischievous economy, which exposed the fortress to its 
worst danger, and deprived the defenders of the means of do- 
ing wholly what they did in part — destroying the assailing 
squadron. 

The result of Lee's apprehension was to leave Moultrie," and 
his exclusively Carolina command, to a monopoly of all the 
glory of the event. It was fortunate for the city that the Brit- 
ish commodore and general were willing to expend their first 
fury on a point so remote and small. Even if they succeeded in 
knocking the palmetto fortress about the ears of its defenders, 
it would, at least, break the first shock of the conflict for the 
citizens, and leave to them only the struggle with assailants 
already greatly breathed in the fight. The whole force left 
under Moultrie in Fort Sullivan was four hundred and thirty- 
five of all ranks. Of the^e, four hundred and thirteen were of 

25. Where did Lee take command ? 26. What was Rutledge doing ? 27. What did 
Lee withdraw from Fort Sullivan ? 



BATTLE OF FORT SULLIVAN. 207 

the second South Carolina regiment of infantry, and twenty-two 
of the fourth regiment (South Carohna) of artillery. 

The larger vessels of the British were three days in getting 
over the bar. It was something of a surprise to the Caro- 
linians to find them successful in getting over their fifty-gun 
ships. The enemy taught them the capacities of their bar, 
which they had hitherto underrated. 

The enemy began civilly with a proclamation, which was sent 
In to Moultrie under a flag, denouncmg the rebellion of the col- 
ony, and calling upon the magistrates and the loyal people of 
South Carolina to lay down their arms and receive pardon. 
The proclamation produced no effect ; and Clinton and Sir 
Peter Parker prepared themselves for the last method of en- 
forcing submission. 

On the 28th day of June — a day which should be famous to 
all succeeding time in the annals of Carolina — this fleet, under 
the command of Sir Peter Parker, consisting of two fifty-gun 
ships, four frigates, and a number of smaller vessels, advanced 
to the attack. 

The first object which drew their attention was the little fort 
of Moultrie, a mere speck upon Sullivan's island, which, it was 
not supposed, could maintain any protracted conflict. Such 
was the opinion, not of the British merely, but, as we have 
seen, of General Lee, who commanded in Charlestown. He 
had called it a mere slaughter-house, and asserted that a couple 
of British frigates would knock it about the ears of its defend- 
ers in half an hour. It was built of palmetto logs, as we have 
already described it. The palmetto is a tree peculiar to the 
southern states, the wood of which, being remarkably soft and 
spongy, is singularly suited to the purposes of defence against 
cannon. A bullet, entering it, makes no splinters nor extended 
fractures, but buries itself in the wood, without doing hurt to 
the parts adjacent. Within the fort was a morass, which fa- 
vored the defenders, as it extinguished the matches of such 
shells as fell within the enclosure. Some of the shells thrown 

28. What number of men were left to Moultrie ? 29. What proclamation was sent 
by the British, and with what efiFect V 30. What day should be famous in the annals of 
Carolina ? 31. What was the fleet of Sir Peter Parker ? 32. Of whnt tit e was the fort 
built ? 



208 HISTORY OP SOUTH CAROLINA. 

on this occasion were found fifty years after, unexploded, with 
the fuse unconsumed, and the missiles with which they were 
charged, still in their original integrity — harmless memorials 
of the direst purposes of harm. 

While the British fleet was preparing to attack the fort, Colo- 
nel Thompson, at the head of the third Carolina regiment, kept 
the land-forces of the enemy, under Clinton in check, at the 
eastern extremity of the island. His excellency tried to get 
across, but Thompson's rifles and two pieces of artillery effectu- 
ally defeated his efforts. 

The main attack was upon Fort Sullivan. Between ten 
and eleven o'clock, the Thunder bomb-vessel began to throw its 
shells upon the fort. Four of the ships — the ActJBon of twenty- 
eight guns, the Bristol and Experiment each of fifty, and the 
Solebay of twenty-eight — came boldly on to the attack. A 
little before eleven o'clock, the garrison fired four or five shot 
at the Act£eon while under sail, but without doing hurt. When 
she came near the fort, she anchored, with springs on her ca- 
bles, and commenced the battle with a broadside. 

Her example was followed by the other vessels, and a storm 
of iron was rained upon the little fortress with the most unre- 
mitting fury. The bomb-vessel continued to throw shells until 
she was disabled ; and, amidst the roar of three hundred heavy 
cannon, the courage of the defenders, who were almost wholly 
natives of Carolina, was summoned to its most fearful trial. 

But their conduct did not belie their well-earned reputation, 
nor leave it doubtful what would be their course in the war 
which was to ensue. They stood as coolly at their posts as if 
they had been trained veterans. With a limited supply of am- 
munition, which forbade the constant exercise of their guns, 
they were enabled to time their discharges with regularity, and 
direct them with a singular precision of aim which told fear- 
fully upon the enemy. 

At one time, the commodore's ship, her stays shot away, 
swung round with her stern upon the fort, inviting, in that un- 

83. What did Colonel Thompson ■while the fleet was approaching to the attack? 
84, What vessel commenced the action? 85. How was her example followed? 
86. How did the Carolinians behave ? 87. W^hat is said of the commodore's ship ? 



BATTLE OF FORT SULLIVAN. 209 

favorable situation, the fire of all its guns. For a moment, every 
cannon that could be made to bear, belched forth its iron upon 
her. 

"Mind the commodore — the fifty-gun ship!" was the cry, 
echoed by men and officers, along the whole range of the little 
battery. 

Dreadfully did she suffer from this attention. Her scuppers 
ran with blood ; her quarter-deck was twice swept of every man 
but her commander, and he himself narrowly escaped with two 
wounds, which disabled him. With a loss in killed and wounded 
of more than one hundred men, she was at length, but with 
some difficulty, withdrawn from the action. 

Nor was the loss of the other vessels, comparatively speak- 
ing, much less. That of the Experiment, in slain, was greater. 
Her captain was maimed, fifty-seven of her men killed, and 
thirty wounded. 

The battle lasted till near nine o'clock in the evening, and the 
ammunition of the little fortress was exhausted during its con- 
tinuance. The guns were almost hushed, firing only at stated 
intervals. This led to the belief, on the part of the assailants, 
that the defence had ceased, and they sent up three vigorous 
cheers in token of their satisfaction. But a fresh supply of 
powder from the city soon undeceived them. And Marion ob- 
tained another supply from the schooner Defence, at the island 
cove, which renewed and increased the warmth of the conflict. 
The battle was renewed with ten-fold fury, and, though the im- 
perfect structure which sheltered the Carolinians reeled and 
trembled to its base at every broadside which they fired, they 
kept to their guns, prepared to meet the invaders behind the 
crumbling ruins — such was Moultrie's resolve — rather than 
yield in a conflict upon which were equally staked the pride 
and the possession of their country. 

By a mishap of the invaders, which was of the most provi- 
dential good to the garrison, they were deprived, almost in the 
beginning of the conflict, of one of their most formidable means 

88. How did she suffer? 39, How the Experiment? 40. How long did the battle 
last? 41. What did the fort lack? 42. How Avas powder procured? 43. What mis- 
hap of the invaders helped the fart? 



210 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

of annoyance. Three vessels — -'the Sphinx, the ActaBon, and 
the Syren — were sent round to attack the western extremity 
of the fort, which was so unfinished as to afford a very imper- 
fect cover to the men at the guns, not only in that, but in almost 
every other part of the structure. This exposed region had 
been one of Lee's terrors. These vessels, in aiming to effect 
their object, got entangled with a shoal called the Middle 
Ground, and ran foul of each other. The Actason stuck fast, 
and was finally abandoned by her crew and destroyed ; but not 
before a detachment of the Carolinians had boarded her, and 
discharged her loaded cannon at her retreating consorts. The 
Syren and Sphinx got off and escaped ; but not until they had 
suffered too many injuries to enable them to take any farther 
share in the battle. 

The fire of the fort was chiefly directed against the Bristol 
and Experiment, both of which suffered severely and equally in 
hull, masts, and rigging. The Bristol had forty men killed and 
seventy-one wounded. She was hulled in several places, and 
but for the smoothness of the water must have filled and sunk. 

Lord William Campbell, late royal governor of the province, 
acting as a volunteer on board, received a wound which ulti- 
mately proved fatal. The loss of the garrison was but ten men 
killed, and twice that number wounded. The shot of the Brit- 
ish flew over the fort, or buried themselves in the soft wood of 
the palmetto. 

One of its defenders distinguished himself by an instance of 
daring which alone has made him famous. In the beginning of 
the action, the flag-staff was shot away. The flag of Carolina, 
in this her first battle for independence, was. a simple stripe of 
blue cloth, bearing a silver crescent — the very flag which 
Moultrie had waved from the walls of Fort Johnson. Sergeant 
Jasper, of the grenadiers, a gallant fellow of Irish descent, im- 
mediately leaped over upon the beach, and, amid the hottest 
fire of the foe, recovered the ensign, ascended the merlon, and 
deliberately restored it to its place. Another brave man, Ser- 

44. What was the fate of the Actaeon ? 45. What of Syren and Sphinx ? 46. What 
vessels suEfered worst? 47. What befel Lord William Campbell? 48. What was the 
loss of the garrison ? 49. What is said of Sergeant .Jasper ? ,50. What of Sergeant 
Macdaniel? 



BATTLE OF FORT SULLIVAN. 211 

geant Macdaniel, mortally wounded by a cannon-ball, still con- 
tinued to cry aloud to his comrades to maintain the liberties of 
his country. His words of patriotic exhortation, coupled with 
his name, have survived his own sufferings and the thunders of 
that fearful day. " I die, my comrades ; but do not let the 
cause of liberty die with me !" 

President Rutledge gave Jasper his sword, and would have 
given him a commission, but the modest fellow declined it, on 
the score of his illiteracy. He had been uneducated, and a 
commission implied the necessity for some degree of education. 
We shall hear more of him hereafter. While the half-wrecked 
shipping of the British were drifting out to sea, Mrs. Barnard 
Elliott, one of the finest women of Charlestown, presented 
Moultrie's regiment with a pair of richly-embroidered colors of 
blue and red silk. Moultrie pledged himself for his men that 
they never should be dishonored. They were not. But they 
were saved at Savannah only by the blood of the brave Jasper 
and of three gallant officers — Lieutenants Bush, Hume, and 
Gray. 

51. What were his dying words ? 52. What did Exitledge give to Jasper ? 53. What 
did Jasper decline? 54. What did Mrs. Barnard Elliott present the regiment? 
54. Who perished in defence of these colors ? 



212 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 



CHAPTER TI. 

1776 TO 1778 WAR WITH LOYALISTS AND CHEROKEES 

INVASION OF FLORIDA CAPTURE OF SAVANNAH. 

When the engagement began with the fort, General Clinton 
made his dispositions for attacking Colonel Thompson, at the 
east end of the island. But the fire from Thompson's eighteen- 
pounder, and the sharp shooting of his rifles, very soon discour- 
aged the attempt. Clinton, after some loss in the effort to land, 
was compelled to remain a quiet spectator. He was very much 
censured, and pleaded that " the breach," was impassable ; the 
ocean being angry, and the water deep. 

When Moultrie commenced the action, he had less than five 
thousand pounds of powder ; equal to twenty-six rounds for his 
cannon ; five hundred pounds more were subsequently obtained ^ 
from Charlestown, and three hundred from the schooner Defence, 
during the action : in all, five thousand four hundred pounds. 
The British ship Bristol, alone, expended fifteen thousand 
pounds ; the Experiment seven thousand five hundred. The 
amount total expended, of all the assailing ships, was thirty- 
four thousand pounds. The fort, with so small a quantity, was 
compelled to economize ; to throw away nothing at random, and 
Moultrie, Marion, and the other officers, sighted every gun that 
was fired, and every gun told, accordingly. The two fifty -gun 
ships, as the best marks, were fairly riddled ; had the sea been 
rough, they could scarcely have been kept from filling. 

Lee visited the fort during the action. A bridge of boats, 
providing for the retreat of the garrison, was established from 
the island to Haddrell's, to facilitate Moultrie's retreat. But, 

1. What passage-of-arms took place between Clinton and Thompson ? 2, What was 
said of Clinton ? 3. What was the consumption of powder, on both sides, in the bat- 
tle of Fort Sullivan ? 4. What was the eflPect of their deficiency of powder in the gun- 
nery of the fort? 5. With what effect on the fifty-gun ships? 6. Who visited the fort 
during the action ? 



WAR WITH LOYALISTS AND CHEROKEES, 213 

had Moultrie retreated, as Lee counselled, Thompson would 
have been sacrificed ; had Clinton forced Thompson, Moultrie 
must have been overcome on the landside ; had the smaller 
British vessels been able to have taken position west of the 
fort, its batteries would have been enfiladed and useless ; and, 
but for Lee's economical withdrawal of five thousand pounds 
of powder from the fort, his majesty's ships would have been 
sunk ; for the artillerists at Fort Sullivan, fired hke riflemen, 
as they pretty generally were. 

The victory was, however, complete, though the results might 
have been greater. The British disappeared. Fort Sullivan 
changed its name for Fort Moultrie, which it now bears. Lee, 
Moultrie, and Thompson, received the thanks of the continental 
congress, July 20, 1776. 

The British gone, the militia was discharged. Moultrie had 
gained the honors of the day ; yet, had the British not attacked 
on the very day when they did, Lee had resolved to supersede 
him, and put General Nash in his place, thinking Moultrie 
quite too lymphatic, and lacking in energy for the exigency. 

Six days after this battle, the continental congress declared 
the United Colonies free and independent States 1 

The disappearance of the British fleet from Charlestown, en- 
abled other and trading vessels to run into port. These brought 
gunpowder, munitions of war, and dry goods, in barter for rice 
and indigo, replenishing the magazines and supplying the peo- 
ple. The victory, and all the recent events, had exhilarated 
the Carolinians. General Lee, though he shared the triumph, 
with very little propriety, was yet willing " to partake the 
gale." Governor (British) Tonyn, of Florida, had been very 
troublesome to Georgia and South Carolina ; and Lee was per- 
suaded, in midsummer, to undertake an expedition against 
Florida. He, accordingly, marched the Virginian and North 
Carolina troops to the Ogechee, whither the South Carolina 
troops followed them. He marched headlong, without clothing, 

7. Vv'liat might have been the events under certain circumstances? 8. What was 
tha victory? 9. To whom did congress return thanks? 10. What had Lee designed 
in respect to Moultrie? 11. What occurred in congress, six days after the battle? 
12. What supplies reached Charlestown after the departure of the Britisli ? 13. What 
expedition did Lee contemplate? 



214 HISTORY OP SOUTH CAROLINA. 

medicine chest, or provisions, and at a season of the year when 
mere fatigue must prove fatal to European life. At Sunbury, 
the average mortality in his camp, was fifteen deaths per day ; 
and, at the moment when everybody saw that the expedition 
must be abandoned, Lee, luckily for himself, was called off to 
the northward, w^iere the British, having taken New York, 
were becoming very formidable. He left immediately, ordering 
the troops of Virginia and North Carolina to follow him. His 
miserable management left the South in greater distress than 
ever ; having lost them more men than all the assaults of the 
enemy. 

When Lee again got to Charlestown, lie was persuaded by 
the president, to leave the North Carolina troops there ; those 
of South Carolina having been left in Georgia. Major-General 
Moore was left in command of the southern troops in Carolina. 

On the 17th of September, Gadsden and Moultrie were made 
brigadiers by the continental congress ; but they ranked lower 
than the brigadiers of the North who had not yet smelt gunpow- 
der, but who were timelily put on the establishment. 

A few words on the new condition of affairs in South Caro- 
lina, consequent upon the changed relation of the state and its 
invaders. 

The result of the ill-conducted expedition against South Car- 
olina contributed greatly to establish the popular government 
in the affections of the people. It quieted the fears of the 
many and overcame the opposition of the kw ; the revolution- 
ists exulted and the royalists were silenced. The doubtful 
grew confident in the success of a cause thus prosperously be- 
gun, while the patriotic appealed to it for the confirmation of 
everything which had been predicted. 

Experience had now show'n that a British fleet might be suc- 
cessfully resisted ; and this conviction, alone, was of the most 
beneficial importance to the cause of the revolution. It em- 
boldened the popular spirit, and drew forth, in aid of the col- 

14. Why did it fail ? 15. Whither was Lee called ? — and why ? 16. Who succeeded 
him in command? 17. Who were made brigadiers ? IS. What was the effect of the 
battle of Fort Moultrie upon the people of South Carolina ? 19. What had experience 
proved ? 



WAR WITH LOYALISTS AND CHEROKEES. 215 

ony, many who had hitherto withheld themselves because of 
the exaggerated estimate which they had made of the power 
of Great Britain to quell the rebellion at a blow. It brought 
money forth from its hiding-places ; and a general feeling of 
confidence began to arise in the public mind, as the prospect 
became stronger of a permanent condition of independence. 
Perhaps it had its disadvantages, also, as it inspired presump- 
tion instead of confidence ; leading the Carolinians into a false 
security, and making them neglectful of those precautions, 
which, in a state of war, are the only just guaranties of com- 
plete success. ^ 

Among the fruits wdiich this battle produced, was a liberal 
concession of favor to the loyalists at home, by the leaders of 
the revolutionary part3\ Victory, which inspires generosity in 
all noble foes, prompted the Carolinians to set free the leaders 
of the opposition, whom they had taken into custody. There 
was, of course, some policy in this. The state wished to con- 
ciliate their friendship rather than provoke their hostility, and 
restored them to the rights and privileges of citizens. But the 
venom was not withdrawn w^ith the weapon. Their minds rank- 
led under a sense of injury, which was increased rather than 
diminished by the defeat of the British arms ; and, though 
pledging themselves to good behavior, they remembered, in bit- 
terness and blood, in long succeeding years of strife, the morti- 
fications to which they had been exposed, and the wrongs which 
they believed themselves to have suffered. 

The successful defence of Fort Moultrie gave a respite of two 
years to ISouth Carolina, from the calamities of foreign war. 
But there were internal strifes not less difficult to be overcome. 
The loyalists were busy, and they had brought the red men of 
Cherokee into the field. The back country was again the scene 
of strife and insurrection. There, the active machinations of 
John Stuart, an officer of the crown, had succeeded in exasper- 
ating the Indians against the Carolinians, and in rousing them 
to arms. A plan had been arranged by Stuart, in concert with 

20. What were among the fruits of victory ? 21. Y»'hat respite followed to tlie Car- 
olinians ? 22. What mischief from internal strifes were in preparation ? 28. What 
was the plan of Stuart, and others ? 



216 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

the royal governors, to land a British army in Florida ; which, 
uniting with the Indians on the western frontiers of Carolina, 
and the tories in Florida, and elsewhere, would fall upon the 
back parts of the state, at the same time that a fleet and army 
should invade it on the seacoast. 

The plan was fortunately discovered by the Carolinians, and 
timely preparations led to its partial defeat ; but, so active had 
been the royal emissaries among the Cherokees, that, simulta- 
neously with the battle of Fort Moultrie, they commenced their 
massacres upon the frontiers. This invasion was marked by 
the usual barbarities of Indian warfare. 

Poorly provided with arms, the borderers betook themselves 
to stockade forts, in w^hich they w^ere shut up. Colonel Wil- 
liamson, meanwhile, who was charged with the defence of the 
back country, succeeded in raising a force of five hundred men. 
A small affair with the Indians, in Avhich they were defeated, 
led to a discovery wdiich opened a new and bloody page in 
southern history. Thirteen of their number, who were taken, 
proved to be white men, disfigured, disguised, and painted so 
as to resemble Indians. 

Henceforth, a warfare between the civilized was to ensue, so 
savage in its atrocities as to justify the subsequent description 
given of it by General Greene, who asserts that the " parties 
pursued each other like wild beasis." Other states knew^ noth- 
ing of the horrors which were the consequence of the domestic 
feuds of the South. 

The news of the defeat of the British fleet produced the best 
effects when it reached the theatre of this bloody warfare. The 
patriots were encouraged, the tories dispirited. The former 
turned out with alacrity, and Williamson soon found himself at 
the head of twelve hundred men. With a detachment of three 
hundred horse, he advanced upon a tory and Indian force at 
Occnoree creek. His approach was known, an ambuscade laid 

24. What event occurred simultaneously with the battle of Fort Moultrie? 25. Who 
was charged with the defence of the upper country? 26. Who were discovered among 
the red men ? 27. How was the subsequent warfare described by Greene ? 28. What 
effect upon the insurgents had the defeat of the British ? 29. What was Williamson's 
force ? 30. Against what force did he advance, and with how many horse ? 31. What 
disaster followed ? 



WAR WITH LOYALISTS AND CHEROKEES. 217 

for him, and he found himself in the thick of a desperate con- 
flict for which he was only partially prepared. His horse was 
shot under him, an officer slain at his side, and, under a dread- 
ful fire, his army v/as thrown into disorder. 

It was rallied by Colonel Samuel Hammond — the thicket 
was charged, and the day retrieved. Marching through the 
Indian settlements, Williamson proceeded to lay them waste. 
With an army of two thousand men, he penetrated their coun- 
try where the people were most numerous. 

Entering the narrow defile of Noewee, enclosed on each side 
by mountains, a second ambuscade awaited him. Twelve hun- 
dred warriors, from the surrounding heights, poured in a con- 
stant fire upon his troops, from which they were only saved by 
the charge of the bayonet. The Indians fled after a severe 
conflict, in which they lost ground rather than men. The 
Carolinians suffered severely from their fire. 

Williamson proceeded on his task of destruction, which, in a 
short time, was made complete. Penetrating their planted and 
beautiful vallies, he destroyed their crops and villages. But 
there was much hard fighting and several severe engagements. 
The savages, assisted by tory leaders, were with difficulty over- 
come. All their settlements eastward of the Apalachian moun- 
tains were laid waste ; and, to avoid starvation, five hundred 
of their warriors fled to join the royalists in Florida. The con- 
quest of the country was complete, and the Cherokees sued for 
peace. They were compelled to cede to South Carolina all 
their lands beyond the mountains of Unacaya. These lands 
form, at this moment, the flourishing districts of Greenville, 
Anderson, and Pickens. The narrative of this war forms a 
vivid episode in the history of the revolutionary struggle in 
South Carolina. 

As we have seen, the declaration of American Independence, 
by the congress at Philadelphia, followed hard upon the battle 

82. Who rallied the army ? — and how was the fight retrieved ? 33. With what force 
did Williamson penetrate the Cherokee settlements ? 34. What ensued in the defile 
of Noewee ? 85. What sort of fighting- followed, and with what result ? 86. How did 
Williamson treat the crops and settlements of the Cherokees ? 37. What became of 
their warriors? 38. What lands were ceded to the Carolinians? 39. What districts 
now cover these lands ? 40. What is said of tliis war ? 41. What event followed the 
battle of Fort Sullivan in the American congress? — and on what day? 

10 



218 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

of Fort Moultrie. The latter event took place on the 28th of 
June; the former, on the 4th of July following, 1776. The 
representatives of South Carolina in the continental congress, 
at this exciting period, were Edward Rutledge, Thomas Hey- 
ward, Thomas Lynch, and Arthur Middleton. They were the 
sijirners for South Carolina. 

For this event, South Carolina had been long prepared. 
She had, in fact, herself maintained an independent govern- 
ment for two years before ; and the solemn declarations of her 
own, and of the liberties of her sister states, while it gave a 
more imposing aspect to the revolution, lifting it out of the re- 
proach of mere insurrection and rebellion, could not add a whit 
to the firmness of lier resolves, or the determined aspect of 
her oppositionto the royal authority. The news of the Declara- 
tion of Independence was received in Charlestown with the ring- 
ing of bells, the beating of drums, discharge of cannon — all the 
jubilation which belongs to a great and welcome popular event. 

The device for the great seal and arms of the state was made 
after the battle of Fort Sullivan, and thus the palmetto became 
conspicuous, bearing a pair of shields ; vv^hile an oak-tree — the 
British ships — lay prostrate at its base and lopped. The arms 
were designed, in part, by Drayton ; the reverse by Arthur 
Middleton ; and this, too, refers to the battle of Fort Moultrie. 
This was the first free baptism of blood, in pitched battle, which 
was essential before the champion could carry shield at all. 

Rutledge assembled the general assembly and legislative 
council in Charlestown, September 17. His speech, and the 
answer to it, make the battle of Fort Sullivan, and the Chero- 
kee war, the leading topics. From both these dangers the 
state was now relieved. But Rutledge urged laws for the 
improvement of the militia system, and every preparation 
against a renewal of British aggression. 

Hitherto, the troops of South Carolina had been on the state 
establishment. The house resolved that the two regiments of 

42. Who were the delegates of Soiith Carolina in congress, and signed for her the 
Declaration ? 43. How was the Declaration received in South Carolina ? 44. What 
is the device for the great seal and arms of South Carolina ? — by whom designed, 
and when ? 45. When did Eutledge assemble the legislature ? 46. What chief sub- 
jects were considered ? 47. What change was made in the military establishment? 



FROM 1776 TO 1778. 219 

infantry, one regiment of rangers, one of artillery, and two of 
riflemen, should henceforth be placed upon the continental estab- 
lishments. 

During this session of the legislature, one hundred and thirty 
thousand pounds were issued in dollar bills ; and, subsequently, 
an act was passed for issuing five hundred thousand pounds 
more for the public service. The courts were again in opera- 
tion. On the loth of November, 1776, thirteen persons were 
convicted of sedition at Ninety-Six, and sentenced to be hanged. 
But Rutledge pardoned them, after frequent respites. In the 
temporary peace and security of the state, mercy was, perhaps, 
the proper policy. 

For more than two years after the battle of Fort Moultrie, 
the arms of the British were chiefly employed at the north- 
ward. Britain, at no time, had in the colonies more than forty 
thousand men ; and, to scatter these over so extensive a surface, 
as that embraced in the thirteen colonies, was to render them 
useless. It was necessary that she should first possess herself 
of the chief cities and colonies of the North, before she could 
spare the necessary forces for the conquest of the South. Dur- 
ing this interval, South Carolina escaped most of the sufferings 
of war, beyond those which followed from the capricious red 
men of her borders, and the sullen discontents of her loyalist 
frontier population. In the meanwhile, Charlestown enjoyed a 
lucrative commerce, and her people grew prosperous and for- 
tunate. In 1777 and 1778, she was the mart which supplied 
with goods most of the states south of New Jersey. An exten- 
sive inland traffic sprang into existence between her and the 
northern towns, in consequence of the presence of the British 
fleets along the coasts of Virginia and New York. In this 
traffic, more than a thousand wagons were incessantly em- 
ployed. 

The prosperity which followed from this trade was, with the 
selfish, an additional argument in favor of the revolution. But 

48. What money was issued by the legislature ? 49. What convictions toolc place 
in Ninety-Six precinct? 50 What did Eutledge? 51. Where, for the next tAvo years, 
were the arms of Britain employed '? 52. What was her largest complement of troops ? 
53. What was lier necessity V 54. Wliat advantages did Charlestown employ during 
chis interval ? .55. What were the effects of this prospcrily ? 



220 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

it tended somewhat to emasculate tlu^ popular will, and to su- 
persede patriotism by reasons drawn from profit wholly. There 
was another argument, however, more legitimate, which had 
very great weight in South Carolina, as it had, no doubt, in all 
the colonies. This was the alliance with France. Her recog- 
nition, alliance, and arms, lifted the revolution into European 
dignity, and thus naturally reflected back, with greater bril- 
liancy and force, upon the rising republic. Lafayette, Steuben, 
De Kalb, and other foreign chiefs and nobles, had thrown them- 
selves into the lists, and entreated to wear the virgin colors of 
America. 

These influences were nowhere felt more strongl}'- than in 
South Carolina, whose people are singularly ambitious of for- 
eign recognition. Add to this, that, in 1779, the united forces 
of the colonies had sustained three campaigns against the arms 
of the mother-country, and though sorely stricken, beaten, 
wounded, famished, they were not crushed ; had not succumbed, 
and had endured with firmness, where they had not been ena- 
bled to escape defeat. The British lion might be taken by the 
mane with impunity ; the South Carolinians had done so ; they 
had heard him roar his loudest, and were not terrified. Briefly, 
the events of three years had not affected the temper, the cour- 
age, or the confidence of the South Carolinians, or lessened their 
resolution to continue their own masters. From this resolution, 
amid many falterings, and frequent overthrow, they never shrank ; 
and, though victory for a while fled their banner, and disaster 
upon disaster mortified their hopes, yet their faith was stead- 
fast, and the brave men who represented the fortunes of the 
state, never despaired of them. They mostly remained firm, 
when most fiercely assailed and terribly threatened. A flag, 
sent into the port of Charlestown, from the commissioners of 
Great Britain, denounced them with the last and worst extrem- 
ities of war, if they continued to prefer the alliance with France 

56. What the effect of the American alliance with France ? 57. WHiat European 
persons of distinction fought under the American banner ? 58. What encouragement 
was drawn from the fact that the colonies had sustained the w^ar for three years? 
59. Was there any change in the temper or feeling of the Carolinians ? 60. How did 
their chief men bear themselves? 61. llow was the British flag treated that came 
into Charlestown to demand submission? 



FROM 1776 TO 1778. 221 

to a re-union with the mother-country. The answer was prompt 
defiance, and the flag-vessel was commanded instantly to depart 
from the waters of the state. Rawlins Lowndes was, at this 
time, the president of South Carolina. The reader will remem- 
ber that, in all these overtures from Great Britain, she* de- 
manded unconditional submission. Such a demand it was an 
indignity to. make, and would have been the extremity of base- 
ness to comply with. 

But, though South Carolina had enjoyed peace and prosperity 
for more than two years within her borders, she had not been 
inactive, nor wanting to any enterprises which might contribute 
to the common cause. Fifty men of her first regiment volun- 
teered, as marines, on board the frigate Randolph ; and there 
went forth with this unfortunate frigate, on a cruise, the Polly, 
of sixteen guns ; the General Moultrie, of eighteen ; the Fair 
American, of fourteen ; and the Notre-Dame, of sixteen. The 
Randolph was of thirty-six guns ; after a few weeks at sea, she 
encountered, at night, the British ship Yarmouth, of sixty -four 
guns; and, in the short but bloody conflict between them, blew 
up ; losing all her crew save three men. A few days after this 
event, which lost South Carolina a fine company, a dreadful 
fire broke out in Charlestown (loth Januar}'-, 1778), which de- 
stroyed two hundred and fifty-two dwelling-houses, not inclu- 
ding stores and kitchens, valued at five hundred and seven thou- 
sand eight hundred and thirty-five pounds currency. This con- 
flagration was imputed to incendiary tories, and to some of the 
crews of British ships, on the coast, whom the former received 
at night into the city. 

But these misfortunes did not lessen the public spirit, nor 
prevent the government from assisting her sister colony of 
Georgia, against the common enemy. 

We have somewhat rapidly sketched her campaigns against 
the Cherokees, led on, as they were, by tories and British emis- 

62. Who was president of the state, at this period ? 63. Had the Carolinians been 
inactive during her two years' respite from invasion? 64. What fleet went to sea 
from Charlestown ? 65. What was the fate of the Randolph ? 66. What was the spe- 
cial loss of South Carolina in that shipV 67. What dreadful event happened in 
Charlestown ? — and when ? 68. To whom was tlie fire ascribed ? 69. How did these 
misfortunes afifect the Carolinians ? 70. What state did they assist? 



222 HISTORY OP SOUTH CAROLINA. 

saries from Florida. Florida was still destined to prove a thorn 
in the side of South Carolina as in that of Georgia. We have 
seen that, under the vexatious goading of this thorn, General 
Lee attempted a hasty incursion into Florida at the head of the 
troops of Georgia and South Carolina. But he only reached 
Ogechee, when the sufferings of his troops, at the worst season 
of the year for such an expedition, led to the abandonment of 
the enterprise. But, as Florida still continued troublesome, 
another expedition was planned in 1778, under General Robert 
Howe (of North Carolina), who was in military command of- 
the forces of the two states of South Carolina and Georgia. 
His army was made up, the greater portion, of the regular 
troops of South Carolina, and a considerable force, besides, of 
South Carolina and Georgia militia. Howe was a man of pa- 
triotism and talents, but, as a general, of very moderate mili- 
tary abilities ; at all events, fortune seldom gave him an oppor- 
tunity of proving to the contrary. He, too, suffered failure 
from various causes, but chiefly through the pestilential charac- 
ter of the climate, in the dreary wastes through which he had 
to pass. His means and appliances were very small ; horses, 
wagons, boats, stores, were wanted. His army sickened, and 
without meeting an enemy in any sharp conflict, he lost more 
than five hundred of his troops ; a terrible loss to the two fee- 
ble states, and to be seriously felt hereafter. 

The expedition was abandoned, like the preceding ; and the 
two colonies, though relieved awhile from annoyances on the 
part of Florida, and because of this enterprise, was yet only 
respited for a season. But a little while, and the predatory 
game was renewed ; Georgia, especially, suffered by water, 
from Florida privateers, and from the incursions, by land, of a 
predatory body of cavalry loyalists, called the " Florida ran- 
gers," whose movements were rapid, and could not be fore- 
seen. 

It was not long before these incursions assumed a more dar- 

71. What was Florida in the side of Georgia and South Carolina? 72. What expe- 
dition was planned in 1778? — and nnder whom? 73. What troops had Howe? 
74. What is said of Howe's abilities, and his fortunes ? 75. What was the result of the 
expedition? 76. Vvliat losses were sustained, and hoAV felt? 77. What predatory 
forces assailed Georgia? 78. How were these forays increased in mischief? 



FROM 1776 TO 1778. 223 

ing and dangerous character. General Provost, who com- 
manded in Florida, led a large foraying expedition, in turn, 
into Georgia, and, dividing his forces, they covered a large 
tract, committing the most atrocious and brutal excesses ; they 
penetrated as far as Sunbury, burning and plundering ; but, in 
small bodies, which, when encountered, were usually defeated, 
or compelled to retreat, in haste. These expeditions were so 
many overtures to the more serious drama, which was now at 
hand. 

An expedition from New York, under Lieutenant-Colonel 
Campbell, an able officer, reached Tybee, and effected a land- 
ing near Savannah, in December, 1778. Campbell was op- 
posed by General Howe, who rashly resolved to fight him 
without preparation, and with an inferior force. Campbell 
made the discovery of a secret passage through a swamp, by 
which he found means to get into the rear of Howe, with a 
large portion of his choice troops, while with a sufficient body, 
he was amusing the American general in front. Howe, taken 
by surprise, was defeated. Campbell, in a short time, obtained 
a complete victory. The capital of Georgia, with all its stores, 
fell into the hands of the British general. That portion of the 
American array which escaped, crossed the Savannah, and found 
refuge in South Carolina. General Provost, meanwhile, cross- 
ing the country with all his forces, from Florida, united them 
safely in Savannah with those of Campbell. 

General Howe was ruined for ever by this event; and 
General Lincoln, of the regular army, succeeded to him, in 
the command of the army in South Carolina. 

Lincoln had considerable reputation as a mihtary man. He 
was amiable and sensible, but not intellectual; was simply a 
respectable soldier, of prudence, courage, firmness, but without 
any traits of decided military ability. It is due to him to say 
that, under many disadvantages, and with deficient resources, he 
maintained the state for fifteen months without suf&ring serious 

79. What expedition succeeded the foray of Provost? 80. Where, and when did 
Campbell land ? 81. By what force was he encountered ? 82. How did he baffle and 
defeat Howe ? 83. What were the fruits of his victory ? 84. VThere did Howe's army 
find refuge? 85. What force united with that of Campbell ? 86. Yfhat was the fate 
of Howe ? S7. Who succeeded him in command ? 88. What is said of Lincoln ? 



224 HISTORY OP SOUTH CAROLINA. 

disaster. His worst was his last ! Still, it may Le permitted us 
to wish, henceforward, that the commanders of our troops may be 
always found among our own people. There might have been 
found many, at this very period, who, probably, would have 
been much more fortunate than Lincoln, having a better knowl- 
edge of the temper, character, and interests of those whom they 
would lead, and a proper knowledge of the soil, the situation 
and circumstances of the country which they undertook to de- 
fend. 

Wanting in this sort of knowledge, commanders, otherwise 
brave and skilful, have led thousands of gallant men to defeat, 
whom a better judgment and a native genius might have led to 
victory. The delegates of South Carolina, in congress, seem 
to have attached quite too much importance to the fact that 
there was a grand national army from which they might select. 

89. What ought to be our wish in the event of future war ? 90. What sort of ofiScers 
are desirable for a people? 



PROGRESS OF THE ENEMY. 225 



CHAPTER III. 

PROGRESS OF THE ENEMY LINCOLN MARCPIES INTO THE 

INTERIOR OF GEORGIA PROVOST MAKES AN ATTEMPT 

ON CHARLESTOWN. 

The loss of Savannah opened the avenues to South Carolina. 
The troops of Georgia — few at first, and thinned by the recent 
expedition of Howe to Florida — were now reduced to a 
merely nominal force. The arms and munitions of tlie state 
were all lost. The tories and Scovilites, as bands of them 
were still called, who had gathered from Florida like vultures 
in the wake of the British army, were now scattering them- 
selves over middle and upper Georgia, and devastating the 
settlements of that state, from whence they were beginning to 
look greedily into Carolina. There, too, the loyalists were be- 
ginning to grow restive. Such was the prospect at the opening 
of 1779. 

The prisoners taken at Savannah were crowded into prison - 
ships, where they perished in great numbers. Many of the 
best citizens of Georgia, though not taken in arms, shared their 
fate. Neither age nor worth served to mitigate their treatment 
when they showed themselves faithful to the country. 

Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell, when the discretion lay with 
him, acted with a judicious policy, and, by timely forbearance, 
secured the submission of numerous citizens. He established 
civil government, and the lower portions of the state were left 
comparatively in peace. But the peace was subjection, under 
superior force. Not so with the upper country ; that was yet 
to be subdued, and the British light-troops penetrated the inte- 

1. What avenues were opened by the fall of Savannah? 2. What evils and loss 
ensned from this event ? 8. How were the Georgia prisoners treated ? 4, What was 
Campbell's policy ? 

10* 



226 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

rior, and the loyalists from Florida, under tlieir cover, were 
cruelly busy. The times were such as to favor outlawry, and 
all the scattered settlements of the Georgians were overrun. 

The anxieties of the two Carolinas were greatly aroused. 
The continental or regular force of North Carolina was at the 
North, in the grand army of Washington. That state (North 
Carolina) now raised two thousand new troops for five months, 
and put them under Generals Ashe and Rutherford. These 
were sent, without delay, to the South, but they had to look to 
South Carolina for arms and munitions of war. The North 
Carolinians were delayed, and only joined the remnant of the 
army after its retreat across the Savannah. Their timely 
arrival might have saved Howe. 

President Lowndes, of South Carolina, put forth all his ener- 
gies. An embargo was laid upon all vessels sailing from the 
state. The cattle from the sea-islands were removed ; the militia 
of the state were drafted in large numbers, put under the com- 
mand of Colonel Richardson, and marched down to headquar- 
ters. They were yet to be drilled, and kncAV little of subordi- 
nation. The continentals in South Carolina, put under Lincoln, 
did not now exceed six hundred men. The rest of his foi'ce 
consisted Avholly of militia men, whose term of service changed 
every second or third month. This miserable system was, per- 
haps, forced upon the authorities in consequence of their total 
inability to maintain a regular army of any dimensions. They 
were without money, or the materials of war. South Carolina 
had to provide the necessary funds, as well as arms and ammu- 
nition. 

Lincoln found his militiamen insubordinate. How could it 
be otherwise with men enlisted for brief periods of three or five 
months only? He established his first post at Purysburg, on 
the Savannah river, for the purpose of maintaining close w^atch 
upon the movements of the British in Georgia, and labored with 
proper diligence to recruit his continentals and discipline his 
militia. 

5. What efforts did North Carolina mako ? 6. What President Lowndes ? 7. "What 
is said of the militia and their term of service? 8. Why this system of short service? 
9. What its evils? 



PROGRESS OF THE ENEMY. 22T 

Meanwhile, the British began to feel their way into South 
Carolina. An advanced corps of some two hundred men was 
detached, under Colonel Gardner, to take possession of Beau- 
fort. But Gardner was encountered promptly by Moultrie 
with a similar force, wholly of Charlestown and Beaufort mi- 
litia. A very sharp passage of arms followed, in which Cap- 
tains Heyward, Rutledge, and Barnwell, greatly distinguished 
themselves ; — the Charlestown artillery proving singularly effi- 
cient in producing the result. Gardner was defeated, losing 
nearly all his officers and many of his men, and was driven 
from the island. 

This little success had its beneficial effects in delaying the 
contemplated invasion of the British into South Carolina. 
Their emissaries, however, were still busily at work among the 
tories of the interior. Very soon, there were hundreds of these 
embodied upon the western frontier of the state ; many of 
those who had hitherto kept quiet, and numbers who had been 
expelled, on a previous occasion, from the country, along with 
numbers of refugees from other states. 

They were embodied under a Colonel Boyd ; but they, too, 
had but a brief career of fortune. They were encountered by 
Colonel Pickens, at the head of three hundred men, near Ket- 
tle creek, and severely handled. After a vigorous conflict of 
an hour, the loyalists were dispersed, and with great slaughter 
— Boyd, their commander being among the slain. More than 
forty fell with him. The prisoners taken were treated as insur- 
gents — were tried as traitors to the laws — tried regularly by 
a jury, under an enactment of the state legislature passed sub- 
sequently to the abolition of the royal government. Seventy of 
them were condemned to death ; but the sentence was only 
carried into effect upon five of the ringleaders of revolt. The 
rest were pardoned. 

The failure of this second insurrection of the tories, and the 
prompt severity of the punishment in the case of those taken, 

10. What British force appeared in South Carolina, and where ? H. By whom was 
Gardner metV 12. What otficers distinguished themselves? — and what corps? 
13. Wliat was the result? 14. What bodies were arming in the interior of South Car- 
olina, and under whom? 15. Who encountered Boyd, and where? 16. What the 
result? 17. How were the prlsoni»rs treated ? 



228 fflSTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

filled other discontents with panic. They felt that theuc was 
still a danger, though the British army was at hand. The event 
defeated the plans of the loyalists, curbed their passions for a 
time, and temporarily deprived them of their vigor. Unsup- 
ported by the British, they fled and dispersed themselves over 
the country, while a few sent in their adhesion to the new gov- 
ernment, and cast themselves upon its mercy. 

As the British extended their posts on the south side of the 
Savannah, Lincoln made encampments at Black Swamp and 
opposite Savannah. From these points, he crossed the river in 
two divisions, with the view of limiting the operations of the 
enemy to the seacoasts of Georgia only. In the execution of 
this design, he sent general Ashe, with fifteen hundred North 
Carolinians and a few Georgians, across the river at a point a 
little above the British army. Ashe proceeded to Briar creek, 
where he suffered himself to be surprised, by the most misera- 
ble neglect of ordinary watch and vigilance, by Lieutenant- 
Colonel Provost ; the militia, taken in front and rear, were thrown 
into confusion and fled at the first fire. Several were killed — 
many were drowned in attempting to cross the river — and a 
large number were made captive. Sixty men, the few" conti- 
nentals under Colonel Elbert, attached to Ashe's army, fought 
with the greatest bravery, but were forced to surrender. Ashe 
was tried and cashiered. 

This unhappy event deprived Lincoln of one-fourth of his 
army, and opened a communication between the British, the 
tories and Indians of the states of North and South Carolina". 
It also emboldened Provost to undertake an expedition of con- 
siderable daring, which, had he been more of the adventurer, 
might have been successful. He hesitated in the moment when 
audacity would have been wisdom. Availing himself of the 
critical moment when Lincoln, with the main force of the south- 
ern army, was one hundred and fifty miles up the Savannah river, 
he crossed with four thousand chosen troops, flanked by several 

18. What good eflFect followed the defeat of Boyd ? 19. What movement did Lin- 
cola make ? 20. What took place at Briar creek. 21. What was done with Ashe ? 
22. What evil followed his defeat ? 23. To what did it encourage Provost ? 24. What 
waa his force ? 



LINCOLN MARCHES INTO GEORGIA. 229 

hundred Indians and loyalists, and pressed on witli all despatch 
for the conquest of Charlestowr.. 

General Lincoln does not seem to have apprehended this 
event. But it was the obvious result of his withdrawal of all 
the regular soldiers from the precinct. Charlestown was access- 
ible equally by land and water. There was an inland route, by 
bay and river, for schooners and small vessels into Ashley river 
and the very harbor of Charlestown. The land route, it is true, 
was exceedingly wild and broken, intersected by SAvamp and 
marsh, where there ^ere numerous defiles and places in which 
resistance might be made, and Moultrie had been left in com- 
mand at Purysburg, a contiguous point, with a thousand mili- 
tiamen. He did all that he could. He threw himself across 
the path of the invading enemy, slowly retiring and offering 
resistance where he might do so with propriety. His main 
object was to regain the city without disaster, impede the British 
where he could, and thus gain time for the citizens to improve 
their fortifications. 

In this effort, he several times crossed weapons with the 
assailants. Several sharp skirmishes marked the mutual prog- 
ress of the combatants. There was a smart passage at arms at 
Tulifinnee, and another at Coosawhatchie bridge, where Lieuten- 
ant-Colonel Laurens, with a small force, disputed the march of 
the enemy. But his troops were mostly militiamen, who had 
never seen the smoke of an enemy's fire, and who were over- 
awed by the superior strength of the British. That they 
should ofier impediment at all, and compel any delay in the 
enemy's march, was probably all that could be expected of 
them. The British, besides, were covered by the houses on 
the opposite bank. Laurens was wounded, and lost half of the 
eighteen continentals who were with him. He was forced to 
retreat, which he did ; the troops being led over a long cause- 
way, by Captain Shubrick, and in the face of the enemy, with- 
out much loss. 

Meanwhile, despatches had been sent to Lincoln. But he 

25. What is said of the accessibleness of Charlestown ? 26. Who threw himself 
across the path of Provost V 2T. What was Moultrie's object? 28. W^ere there any 
skirmishes ? — and where ? 29. What took place at Coosawhatchie bridge ? 30. Who 
was wounded and forced to r«'treat? 



230 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

could not be persuaded that Provost's march was any thing but 
a feint, designed to divert him from his operations in upper 
Georgia. And yet he should have known, that, with Moultrie's 
small force of militiamen, he could not for an hour have with- 
stood the march of such a force as Provost commanded. And 
why a feint, when Charlestown lay open to him, and Lincoln was 
not in any way pressing upon Savannah, where the British 
had their base of operations ? The employment of such a force 
of continentals as Lincoln had, in the upper parts of Georgia, 
which were thinly inhabited, was immeasurably beyond the 
objects to be gained and the necessities of the region. The 
country through which Provost had to pass, from Savannah 
to Charlestown, was singularly defenceless. The white popula- 
tion was few and far between ; the negroes numerous. The 
army of Provost was reported to be six thousand men. It 
reached two thirds of this number, and had with it, besides, a 
large number of tories and red men, and these were soon put 
to their legitimate uses ; they were let loose upon the country, 
while the regular army of Provost marched forward in unbroken 
column, and with a force quite too powerful to suffer much 
impediment, or for any length of time, from the ill-regulated 
militia under Moultrie. 

The red men and the tories, meanwhile, were doing their 
predatory work. They scattered themselves along the route, 
searching all the plantations which were known to belong to 
the opulent, and not always discriminating between those who 
favored them and those who were hostile. They sacked, burned, 
ravaged, robbed, committed all manner of excesses. The seat 
of the Bull family at Sheldon, the church at Sheldon, were put 
to the flames. Houses wer€ plundered of their plate, slaves 
carried off, and women brutally treated. Their fathers, sons, 
brothers, were in Moultrie's army. As soon as they appre- 
hended the danger to their families, each man set forth for his 
homestead — nothing could stay them ; and before Moultrie could 
reach Ashley river, half of his army had thus abandoned him. 

31. What was Lincoln's opinion V — and what ought he to have seen? 32. What 
Is said of the country through which Provost had to pass? 83. What use was made 
of his tories and red men ? 84. Wliat did they on the route? 



ATTEMPT ON CHARLESTOWN. 281 

"VYitli the remainder he still maintained a bold front to his 
enemy while receding with proper industry. But for his steadi- 
ness and the zeal of the citizens during his progress, he would 
have come too late. Provost was a dashing general, clever at 
a coup de main; and anything like a fugitive retreat on the 
part of Moultrie would have enabled him to attain his object. 

When this object was fully made known to Lincoln by de- 
spatches, and he could be made to see that Provost would be a 
blockhead to aim at less than the conquest of the defenceless city, 
he wheeled about and made every possible effort to recover lost 
ground and return in season. And yet he would have been too 
late, had not Moultrie been steady in the retreat, had not the 
citizens been properly on the alert, and had not policy swayed 
subtilely the counsels of Rutledge and the authorities. When 
Provost crossed the Savannah, Charlestown w'as almost defence- 
less. No provisions for defence had been made on the land-side. 
No attempt had been apprehended in this quarter. Lincoln, it 
was thought, and Moultrie, must both be defeated before the 
danger could come home to them. So there were no works, 
no batteries, no bastions, no boats covering the Ashley wdth 
artillery and men. But zeal compensated for past remissness. 
A brief delay of Provost in his march lost him one opportu- 
nity ; and w^hen he had reached the city, he was persuaded to 
negotiate, when a proper military wisdom would have prompted 
him to storm. But of this hereafter. 

His delays enabled the citizens to fortify Charlestown neck 
with lines and an abbatis. The militia in the vicinity were 
hurriedly collected. The w^hole country was in commotion. 
Five several bodies of men, at the same moment, w^ere march- 
ing at full speed for the capital. Moultrie, with the remnant of 
his thousand militiamen — say six hundred — was hurrying in, 
having but the one object, the defence of the city. But for this 
paramount object, he might have taken bloody harvest at hun- 
dreds of defiles and dismal passages along the route. Lincoln, 
with some three or four thousand troops, seeking to recover 

35. What was the effect on Moultrie's militia ? 36. How did Moultrie ? 37. What 
combined influences tended to save the city? 88. What was its condition at Provost's 
first marching? 39. How did he err? 40. How did his errors avail tiie Charlestown- 
ians? 41. How many several bodios of men wfre at once marching for the city? 



232 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

lost ground, was pressing as fast as possible on the tracks of 
Provost. Rutledge, governor of the state, who had been a short 
time before, formally invested with dictatorial powers, was press- 
ing down with six hundred men, whom he had collected at the 
rendezvous at Orangeburg ; and Colonel Harris, with a detach- 
ment of two hundred and fifty light-troops, had been despatched 
by Lincoln, in advance of his own march, to the assistance of 
the threatened city. These last three bodies reached Charles- 
town before the British had yet crossed the Ashley ; and the 
troops were drilled, and the mattock and spade were plied by a 
thousand hands, in order properly to prepare against the coming 
of the enemy. 

They crossed the river — one body, nine hundred strong — 
on the 11th of May. Almost in the moment of their appear- 
ance, the citizens had been cheered by the arrival of the gal- 
l;;nt Pole, Brigadier-General Count Pulaski, with his legion of 
inix«^^d cavalry and foot. The cavalry of the British were en- 
countered by Pulaski's infantry soon after their arrival, and a 
sharp action ensued. After a brave struggle, the Americans 
were forced to retire within the walls of the city ; but not be- 
fore they had shown to the enemy, and to the citizens, that the 
contest for the ascendancy must be a bloody one, and that the 
city was not destined to fall an easy prey to the daring invader. 

This little affair may have had some effect in producing a 
pause in the mind and progress of the British general. His 
whole army had crossed the Ashley during the day and night, and 
had taken position about a mile above the lines of the city. His 
true policy was instant action. This was expected. Unpro- 
vided for a regular seige, the only hope of Provost lay in 
prompt assault. Looking for no less, the garrison stood to 
their arms all night. They were unfortunately but too vigi- 
lant. Patrols had been sent forth, under cover of the night, to 
scour the space between. By a neglect of proper precaution, a 
false alarm, during the night, led to a general discharge of mus- 

42. What force did Eutledge bring with him, and whence? 48. What Colonel Har- 
ris, and whence ? 44. Did they arrive in season ? 45. When did Provost cross the 
Ashley? 46. What other celebrated man arrived at the same time? 47. By whoTn 
were the "British first on.'.-oant'jred ? 4S. VvHlh wliat eflect? 49. Where <1 id Provt-.tit 
take position ? 50. \\\)ni ^va« !K^i policy ? — in what lay his hojvj? 



ATTEMPT ON CHARLESTOWN. 283 

ketry along the lines, by which unfortunate procedure, Major 
Benjamin Huger, at the head of one of these patrols, a gallant 
officer, was killed, with twelve of his men, by his own people. 
The fact shows that, however mournful the mistake, the watchers 
of the garrison were vigilant, and their fire singularly effective. 

Provost waited till the next day before he demanded the sur- 
render of the town. Some hours had been thus gained ; but 
more time was still required, and Rutledge proposed to negotiate. 
He knew that Lincoln was urging his progress, and that Pro- 
vost had no means of besieging or blockading — that he must 
take the city by storm, or forego his prey. 

Under the circumstances, to gain time was of the utmost con- 
sequence. A day was consumed in tendering and returning flags. 
Provost was deluded. The better to beguile him, a large hope 
was held out as a lure to expectation. The commissioners 
were instructed to propose the neutrality of South Carolina 
during the war, and that the future of the state should be de- 
termined by the event of the war. 

It has been assumed, by certain writers, that this offer was 
made in good faith ; and it was the policy of Rutledge that it 
should appear so. There were hundreds of loyalists in the city 
who found means to communicate by night with the enemy. It 
was necessary that people and army should equally believe that 
the governor and his council were in earnest, in order that Pro- 
vost should believe it also. Meantime, the end was gained. 

Provost discovered, after a while, that the negotiations did not 
include the army ; that, even if the city were surrendered, the 
troops in it might all cross to the eastsideof the Cooper and escape, 
and that he should only possess the shell of the oyster. He de- 
manded to treat with the military commandant, who was Moul- 
trie. When Rutledge referred the matter finally to him, he 
exclaimed, " I will save the city !" and his exclamation encour- 
aged the people to enthusiasm. They had heard of the ne- 
gotiations. They 'were roused to mutiny, people and army, 
and, had the governor and council persisted, which we have no 

51. What disaster happened to the garrison that night? — and who was slain? 
52. What were Provost's delays ? 53. What the policy of Rutledge ? .54. What grand 
lure did he hold out to the British general? 55. Was the object gained by these ne- 
gotiations ? 56. What did Provost finally demand ? 57. What was Moultrie's resolve ? 



234 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. - 

reason to suppose that tliey designed to do, they would have 
been torn in pieces. 

Meanwhile, an intercepted letter of Lincoln taught Provost 
that a formidable enemy was marching fast upon his rear. He 
had lost the golden opportunity, the precious moment, when, 
confusion and panic, and lack of all preparation, might have 
won for him, though in bloody fight, the prey which he had so 
eagerly sought ! The defiance of Moultrie — the tidings of 
Lincoln's approach — were sufficient. He did not attempt tlie 
assault. He decamped that very night, recrossed the Ashley, 
and hastened down toward the sea-islands, in the creeks and 
inlets of which his boats were expected. The delay of that 
night would have compromised his whole army — brought them 
between two fires : the militia from the city — the continentals 
in his rear. When the garrison looked forth next morning, 
there was not an enemy to be seen ! 

58. What was the temper of the troops and people hearing of the negotiations ? 
59. What the result on Provost ? — and what did he do ? 



BATTLE OF STONO. 236 



CHAPTER IV. 

BATTLE OF STONO DEFEAT AT SAVANNAH REDUCTION 

OF CHARLESTOWN 1779 TO 1780. 

Thus was baffled the second attempt of the British upon the 
city of Charlestown. Provost filed off from the main to the 
islands along the seacoast, taking possession of James island ; 
from whence, on the 20th of May, a detachment crossed to 
John's island, where the British surprised a party of seventy 
or eighty of the Americans, who were posted nearly opposite, 
at Mathews's plantations. 

Robert Barnwell, in this affair, received seventeen bayonet 
stabs ; but afterward recovered. Many of the Americans were 
bayoneted. The, surprise had been complete : first of a sentinel, 
from whom the enemy extorted the countersign, and then of the 
whole party. Surprise is the great danger of militiamen, who 
have yet to learn the various stratagems of the regular army ; and 
two thirds of the misfortunes of the Americans, everywhere, are 
attributable to want of proper vigilance and watch. The Brit- 
ish burned the house of Mathews, but continued on the island, 
and finally entrenched themselves on Stono river. James 
island, being within easy reach of the city, they soon abandoned. 
Fort Johnson, by the way, had been previously destroyed by 
the Carolinians, as not defensible from the rear — being easy of 
access, and likely to be a danger to the harbor, if once in pos- 
session of the British. Besides, its garrison was wanted in the 
city. We are not sure that the arguments were valid for its 
destruction. But, in all probability, with small resources, of 
men, money, and munitions, it was not easy to maintain an ex- 

1. What course was taken by Provost ? 2. What surprise did he eflfect, and where ? 
8. What of Eobert Barnwell ? 4. What is said of the danger of militiamen ? 5. Where 
did the British entrench themselves? 6. What of Fort Johnson ? 



236 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA* 

posed position, the uses of which were not obvious at the mo- 
ment, nor conceived to be necessary at any time, since Fort 
Sullivan, after its successful defence against the British fleet, 
was held to be quite adequate for the defence of the harbor. 

The British, as we have said, threw up entrenchments at 
Stono, within thirty miles of the city. Here Lincoln deter- 
mined to attack them. He made his dispositions accordingly, 
agreeably to a concerted plan. A feint was to have been made 
from James island by the militia from Charlestown ; but, by de- 
lay and mismanagement in procuring and providing boats, the 
troops from Charlestown, under Moultrie, did not reach their 
destination till some hours after the action. The action took 
place on the 20th of June, 1779. 'Ihe force engaged in the 
fight was, on the part of the Americans, about twelve hundred 
men — of whom one-half were militia. The militia of North 
and South Carolina were on the right ; the continentals or reg- 
ulars, on the left. Colonel Malmedy led a corps of light-infantry 
on the right, and Lieutenant-Colonel Henderson another on the 
left. The militia and cavalry of Virginia formed a corps of 
reserve. The British numbered at first from seven to eight 
hundred men ; but they were entrenched, and they were subse- 
quently re-enforced. They had three redoubts, with lines of 
communication, and their field-pieces w^ere judiciously posted in 
the intervals, the whole front being secured by an abbatis. 

That they might be harassed, and at the same time deceived, 
their quarters were beaten up by alarm-parties for several nights 
preceding the attempt which was designed to be made in earn- 
est. When the real attack was made, two companies of the 
seventy-first regiment sallied out to support the pickets. They 
were charged triumphantly by the light-infantry of Henderson, 
and were discomfited. But nine men of their number escaped ; 
and every man at the field-pieces, between the redoubts, w^as 
killed or wounded. The retiring parties w-ere, however, re- 
enforced promptly. The battle became general, and was waged 

7. What did Lincoln determine ? 8. What party failed to arrive ? 9. What force 
had the Americans ? — and how disposed ? 10. What force the British ? — and how 
disposed ? IL What regiment sallied ? 12. By whom encountered ? — and with what 
result ? 



BATTLE AT STONO. 237 

fiercely for one hour and twenty minutes, during wliich time 
the Americans had the advantage. But the British were 
strengthened by new reinforcements ; to prevent which the 
feint from James' island had been designed. Had the force un- 
der Moultrie been in season, the enemy could not have received 
this succor. Their coming finally changed the state of affairs, 
and a retreat became necessary on the part of the Americans. 
As soon as they began to retire, the British made a sally with 
their whole garrison. But the American light-troops, under 
Malmedy and Henderson, so completely masked the retreat and 
retarded the pursuit that Lincoln was enabled to draw off" with 
regularity, and to bring away all his wounded. 

The loss of the Americans, killed and wounded, was above 
one hundred and fifty. The South Carolina officers especially 
suffered. Colonel Roberts, a very brave and accomplished gen- 
tleman, was among the slain. The loss of the British was 
equally or more severe ; but the absolute number of casualties 
v/as never ascertained. 

This battle took place at a season when the weather was quite 
too hot for military operations, and both parties needed respite 
and shelter from heat and sun. The British soon after aban- 
doned the position and all the adjacent islands, retreating from 
one to another, until they reached Beaufort, and finally Savan- 
nah. They were provided with boats, in which the Americans 
were deficient. This enabled them to expedite their retreat 
with little loss. The American militia, after the battle, generally 
retired to their homes. Lincoln, with his regulars, took a posi- 
tion at Sheldon. For a brief season, both armies were glad of 
the respite of '' summer " quarters, in which they might rest 
and repair their losses. 

This invasion of General Provost was creditable neither to the 
valor nor the honor of British soldiers. His troops distinguished 
themselves by predatory depredations only. Private houses 
were robbed of their plate ; persons of their jewels. The very 

13. How long did the battle last? 14. Who had the advantage ? 15. How were the 
British relieved V 16. How was the retreat conducted, covered, and by whom? 
17. What was the loss of the Americans? IS. What course did the British afterward 
pursue? 19. Where did Lincoln take post? 



238 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

vaults of the dead were broken into for concealed treasures, and 
three thousand slaves were carried off and sold to the planters 
of the West Indies. Numbers of these unfortunate people, fol- 
lowing the camp of the British, fell victims to disease, being 
left to perish without medicine or attendance, wherever they 
sank down. Hundreds of them expired of camp-fever on Otter 
island, their unburied carcasses being surrendered to the beasts 
of the forest. For years after, the island was strewed with 
bleaching bones — a miserable memorial of their own folly, and 
of the inhumanity of those who first seduced them from their 
homes, and then left them to perish. 

'■ A brief calm succeeded the action of Stono in the affairs of 
Carolina. The Americans and British kept close in their re- 
spective encampments, until the arrival of a French fleet on the 
coast aroused them to immediate activity. 

This fleet, commanded by Count D'Estaing, consisted of 
twenty sail-of-the-line. Its arrival at once led to the adoption 
of a joint resolution of the allied troops to attack Savannah ; 
and orders were issued to the militia of Carolina and Georgia 
to rendezvous in the neighborhood. Flushed with the faith that 
the fall of Savannah was inevitable, the Americans turned out 
with alacrity, and, on the 16th of September, 1779, that city, 
beleaguered by the united forces of Lincoln and D'Estaing, was 
summonded to surrender. It had been summoned by D'Estaing 
alone, in the name of the king of France, before Lincoln had 
reached the scene of operations. 

The garrison requested four and twenty hours to consider ! 

Provost had taken a lesson from his recent experience at 
Charlestown. He had failed there, because of his good nature, 
in allowing the garrison so much time in which to consider ; he 
now made use of a similar lure to obtain time himself; he was 
willing to entertain the demand to surrender, but he wished to 
consider the terms, and negotiation was again employed to baf- 
fle enterprise. 

20. What excesses were committed by the British ? 21. What became of the fugi- 
tive slaves? 22, What aroused the two armies to activity? 23. What force had tho 
French ? 24. Who commanded ? 25. When did the allied troops appear before Sa- 
vannah ? 26. By whom was it summoned ? 27. What lesson had Provost taken ? — 
and where? 



DEFEAT AT SAVANNAH. 239 

D'Estaing, having little time to spare, yet accorded the re- 
quired hours to the garrison of Savannah, which, at the moment 
of the summons, was really at the mercy of the French ; and, 
just as in the case of Provost at Charlestown, time gained was 
safety and victory. The delay granted, the fortunate moment 
was lost and could never be regained. An assault, an hour 
after the summons, must have been successful. Provost used 
the interval allowed him in strengthening his works. Mean- 
while, the force of Colonel Maitland, of the British, who had 
been stationed at Beaufort, succeeded in eluding the besiegers, 
and throwing itself into the beleaguered city. 

The arrival of such a reinforcement determined the garrison 
to risk an assault. The besiegers were reduced to the neces- 
sity either of storming or regularly besieging the place. The 
former measure was resolved upon. On the evening of the 
23d, they broke ground, and on the 4th of October following, 
opened a fire upon the city from nine mortars and thirty-seven 
pieces of cannon, from the land-side, and sixteen from the river. 
These continued to play with little intermission for four days, 
but without making any serious impression on the defences of 
the place. Preparations were then made for an assault. 

This measure was forced on D'Estaing, by the necessity of 
withdrawing his fleet, without delay, from a coast which is so 
dangerous to shipping at such a season of the year. The morn- 
ing of the 9th of October was fixed upon for the attack. Two 
feints were made with the country militia, and a real attack on 
the Spring-Hill battery, with two thousand five hundred French 
troops, six hundred continentals, and three hundred and fifty of 
the Charlestown militia ; the whole being led by D'Estaing and 
Lincoln. The assault was ordered to take place at four o'clock 
in the morning ; but some miscalculations having been made, it 
was broad daylight when the troops advanced to the attack, 
when all their movements were perceptible to the'enemy. 
By the desertion of a grenadier, the night before the assault, 

28. How did Provost employ the time allowed him ? 29. What force came to hig 
succor? 30. To what necessities were the besiegers reduced? 31. When did they 
begin the bombardment, and for how long was it continued ? 32. What day was 
fixed for the assault? 33. What force employed, and how disposed ? 34. From whom 
did the British learn these details ? 



240 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

the British were also apprized of the contemplated arrangements, 
and were enabled to strengthen themselves in the Spring-Hill 
battery by additional forces, which were withdrawn from those 
points against which the feints were to be made. Under these 
disadvantages, the allied troops, nevertheless, marched forward 
with great boldness to the assault, but under a heavy and well- 
directed fire, not only from the batteries, but from several armed 
galleys, which lay in the river and threw their shot directly across 
their path. 

This cross-fire did such fearful execution as to throw the front 
of the column into confusion. A general retreat was com- 
manded, after it had stood the enemy's fire for about fifty-five 
minutes ; but not before the ramparts were carried by the South 
Carolina regiment. Lieutenants Hume and Bush planted its 
colors upon the walls, but they were shot down a moment after. 

These colors had been presented to the regiment for its gal- 
lant conduct at Fort Moultrie. It was a point of honor that 
they should not be lost. Lieutenant Gray endeavored to save 
them and received his mortal wound in the attempt. Jasper, 
the brave man who replanted the crescent flag of Fort Moul- 
trie on the merlon in the hottest fire of the foe, was more suc- 
cessful. He bore them back from the bloody heights and de- 
livered them in safety to his comrades ; but he paid for his 
chivalry with his life ; he, too, received a mortal wound in 
doing so, and died in a little time after. Dearly did the little 
regiment pay for the preservation of this object of military 
pride. 

In this unfortunate attempt upon Savannah, the combined 
armies sustained a heavy loss. D'Estaing himself received two 
wounds, and nearly a thousand men were slain or wounded in 
the brief but sanguinary conflict which ensued. 

After this repulse, the idea of taking the place by regular 
approaches was resumed, but soon discarded. D'Estaing was 
uneasy at the exposed situation of his fleet ; and the militia 
were no less anxious to return to their homes. The leaguer 

35. How were the assailants met? 36, What was the result? 37. What colors were 
planted on the walls, and by whom ? 38. What their fate ? 89. Who sought to save 
them and perished? 40. Who finally bore them off in safety? 41. What the fate of 
Jasper? 42. What was the loss of the combined armies in this affair? 



REDUCTION OP CHARLESTOWN. 241 

was conducted without spirit and was soon discontinued. 
D'Estaing soon after re-embarked, and left the continent, while 
Lincoln returned to Charlestown. 

With this affair, the campaign of 1779 ended in the South. 
The arrival of the French, if productive of no other good, 
served, for awhile, to confine the British to the ramparts of 
Savannah, to prevent them from overrunning the back settle- 
ments of Georgia and Carolina, and bringing into activity the 
malignant and discontented partisans of royalty, who were 
scattered in great numbers throughout the country. 

But this respite was of brief duration. The failure of the 
attack upon Savannah, prepared the way for the fall of Charles- 
town. The departure of the French fleet removed the chief 
obstacle to this enterprise. There were several other concur- 
ring causes that invited the invasion of Charlestown. The un- 
fortunate expedition against Florida had totally broken up the 
southern army. The Carolina regiments were thinned, by 
sickness, to mere skeletons ; the Virginia and North Carolina 
forces were all melted away, chiefly by the expiration of their 
time of enlistment. The Georgia regiments filled the prison- 
ships of the invaders. The possession of Georgia by the Brit- 
ish disarmed the patriotic citizens, and gave strength and activ- 
ity to the royalists and Indians. South Carolina was, in brief, 
a frontier, on three sides hemmed in by bitter and uncompro- 
mising enemies. The loyalists of North Carolina, Georgia, and 
Florida — the Indians always ready for war, which is a kin- 
dred life with that of the hunter — were gathering in restless 
and roving bands upon her borders. 

The conquest of Charlestown thus promised to be easy, and 
with its possession, particularly if the southern army should 
fall with it, the British ascendancy in the South would be com- 
plete. The reduction of the whole state, and, probably, that of 
North Carolina, would ensue ; and no obstacle would then re- 
main in the way of an uninterrupted backward path of con- 
quest through Virginia, from the Savannah to the Delaware. 

43. Whither did D'Estaing and Lincoln retire? 44. What temporary good resulted 
from the arrival of the French? 45. For what catastrophe did this failure prepare 
the way? 46. What was the condition of South Carolina? 47. What would proba- 
bly result from the British conquest of Charlestown ? 



242 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

The enemy were also well acquainted with the embariassments 
of the state in procuring men and money. Of the six regiments 
of South Carolina, but eight hundred men could be raised ; and 
so miserably depreciated was the value of her paper, that the 
price of a pair of shoes was seven hundred dollars. The inva- 
sion of Carolina was resolved upon. 

On the 11th of February, 1780, the British army landed 
within thirty miles of Charlestown. The approach of danger 
led to the immediate action of the people. The assembly, then 
in session, dissolved, after having conferred upon John Rutledge 
the powers, with some limitation, of the dictator in ancient re- 
publics. He was commissioned to see that the " republic sus- 
tained no harm." 

With these powers, he issued a proclamation, commanding 
the militia to repair to the garrison ; but this proclamation pro- 
duced very little effect. The people of the country were un- 
willing to leave their plantations unprotected, and have always 
been particularly averse to being cooped up in a besieged town, 
at a season of the year when the seaboard cities are particularly 
liable to disease. They dreaded small-pox and yellow fever 
with a mortal apprehension. Had Sir Henry Clinton, the com- 
mander-in-chief of the invading army, at once advanced against 
the city, it must have fallen in a few days. But that cautious 
commander, a good soldier, but one not formed for brilliant or 
prompt achievements, adopted the slow mode of regular inves- 
titure. 

At Wappoo, on James' island, he formed a depot and built 
fortifications. More than a month elapsed, after his first land- 
ing, before he crossed Ashley river. On the 1st of April, he 
broke ground at the distance of eleven hundred yards, and, at 
successive periods, erected five batteries on Charlestown neck. 
His ships-of-war, about the same time, crossed the bar, and, 
passing Fort Moultrie with a fair wind, avoided a second regu- 
lar combat with that fortress. 

48. How were shoes sold ? 49. When did the British army land ? — and where ? 
50. Who was made dictator? 51. What proclamation did he make, and with what 
effect? 52. What is said of Sir Henry Clinton? 53. What were his proceedings at 
Wappoo, and subsequently ? 54. Where, and when, did he first break ground against 
the city ? .5'}. How did his shipping enter the harbor ? 



REDUCTION OP CHARLESTOWN. 243 

They were not, however, suffered to pass without a heavy 
penalty. Colonel Pinckney, who commanded at the fort, kept 
up a brisk and severe fire upon them, and did much execution. 
The ships generally sustained considerable damage. Twenty- 
seven seamen were killed or wounded. The fore-top-mast of 
the Richmond was shot away, and the Acetus ran aground near 
Haddrell's point, and was destroyed by her crew, under a heavy 
nre from two field-pieces, commanded by Colonel Gadsden ; the 
crew escaped in boats. The royal fleet came to anchor within 
long shot of the town batteries. 

Fort Moultrie being now of less use than the men who 
manned it, they were in great part withdrawn, and it soon fell 
into the hands of the enemy. Colonel Pinckney's force, to- 
gether with that which had served to man the small fleet of 
the Americans, was transferred to the city, where they helped 
to swell the inconsiderable numbers of the garrison. This 
force, at no time, amounted to four thousand men ; they were 
required to defend an extent of works which could not be well- 
manned by less than ten thousand ; yet, even for this small 
army, a sufficient quantity of provisions had not been furnished, 
and, before the siege was over, the citizens were suffering from 
starvation. 

But the garrison, though feeble, was neither idle nor dis- 
pirited. The field-works which had been thrown up against 
the invasion of Provost, were strengthened and extended. 
Lines of defence, and redoubts, were stretched across Charles- 
town neck, from Cooper to Ashley river. In front of the lines 
was a strong abbatis, and a wet ditch picketted on the nearest 
side. Deep holes were dug, at short distances, between the 
lines and the abbatis. The lines were made particularly strong 
on the right and left, and so constructed as to rake the wet 
ditch in its whole extent. ,In the centre was a strong citadel. 
On the sides of the town, and wherever the enemy could effect 
a landing, works were thrown up. The continentals, with the 
Charlestown artillery, manned the lines in front of the foe on 

56. Did tliey suffer? — and how much? 5T. What became of the garrison, at Fort 
Moultrie? 58. What force was had toman the city lines, and what was requisite? 
69. How did the garrison do their duty? 60. What were the fortifications? — and 
how manned ? 



244 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

the neck. The works on South bay and other parts of the 
town, which were less exposed, were defended by the mihtia. 

The marine force of the Charlestownians had been increased 
by converting several schooners into galleys, and by two armed 
ships which had been purchased from the French. The infe- 
rior numbers of the garrison forbade any serious attempts to 
oppose the descent of the British upon the main, but did not 
prevent several little affairs, in which both officers and men 
exhibited no less spirit than good conduct. In one of these, a 
corps of light-infantry, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel John 
Laurens, encountered the advance-guard of the British in a 
skirmish of particular severity. 

Though the lines of Charlestown were field-works only, Sir 
Henry Clinton made his advances with great caution. At the 
completion of his first parallel, the town was summoned to sur- 
render. Its defiance was the signal for the batteries on both 
sides to open, which they did with great animation on the 12th 
of April. 

The fire of the besiegers soon showed itself to be far supe- 
rior to that of the besieged. The former had the advantage of 
twenty-one mortars and royals ; the latter possessed but two, and 
their lines soon began to crumble under the weighty cannon- 
ade maintained against them. The British lines of approach 
continued to advance, and the second parallel was completed by 
the twentieth, at the distance of three hundred yards from the 
besieged. The Americans soon perceived the hopelessness 
of their situation. Councils of war were called, and terms of 
capitulation offered to the besiegers, which were instantly re- 
jected and the conflict was resumed. 

The weakness of the garrison prevented any sallies. The 
only one made during the siege, took place soon after the re- 
jection of these offers. Lieutenant-Colonel Henderson led out 
two hundred men, attacked the advanced flanking party of the 

61. "What was the marine force of the city? 62. What skirmishes took place? 
63. How were Clinton's approaches made? 64. When did the batteries open? 
65. What was the difference of force and fire between them? 66. When was the 
second parallel completed ? 67. What did the Americans discover? — and what oflFer ? 
68. What ansM-ered the British? 69. Was there any sally during he siege? — under 
whom, and with what result? 



REDUCTION OF CHARLESTOWN. 245 

enemy, killed several, and brought in eleven prisoners. In 
this affair, Captain Moultrie, of the South Carolina line, was 
among the slain. 

On the 26th of April, a plan of retreat by night was pro- 
posed in council, but rejected as impracticable. On the 6th of 
May, Clinton renewed his former terms for the surrender of 
the garrison. At this time, the flesh provisions of the city were 
not sufficient for a week's rations. There was no prospect 
either of supplies or reinforcements. The engineers admitted 
that the lines could not be maintained ten days longer, and 
might be carried by assault in ten minutes. General Lincoln 
was disposed to accept Clinton's offer, but he was opposed by 
the citizens, who were required by Clinton to be considered 
prisoners on parole. To their suggestion of other terms, they 
received for answer that hostilities should be renewed at eight 
o'clock. 

When that hour arrived, the gHi?rison looked for the most 
vigorous assault, and prepared, with a melancholy defiance, to 
meet the assailants at their ruined bulwarks. But an hour 
elapsed without a gun being fired. Both armies seemed to 
dread the consequences of an assault, and to wish for a contin- 
uance of the truce. 

At nine in the evening, the batteries of the garrison were re- 
opened, and being answered by those of the British, the fight 
was resumed with more vigor and execution than had been dis- 
played at any time from the beginning of the siege. Ships and 
galleys, the forts on James' and John's islands, on Wappoo, and 
the main army on the neck, united in one voluminous discharge 
of iron upon the devoted garrison. Shells and carcasses were 
thrown incessantly into the town, in all quarters, and it was 
everywhere covered by the cannon of the assailants. The 
city was on fire in several places ; and, by this time, the third 
parallel of the enemy being completed, the parties were within 
speaking distance of each other, and the rifles of the Hessian 

70. Who was slain? 71. What plan was proposed in council? — and when? 
72. What terms did Clinton offer ? — and when? 73. What was the condition of the 
city ? 74. What was Lincoln's desire, and by whom opposed ? 75. At what hour 
were hostilities renewed? 76. With what spirit and effect? 77. To what condition 
were city and garrison reduced ? 

11* 



246 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

Yagers were fired at so short a distance, as never to be dis- 
charged without effect. The defenders could no longer show 
themselves above the lines with safety. A hat raised upon a 
cane, was instantly riddled with bullets. 

On the 11th of May, the British crossed the wet ditch by 
sap, and advanced within twenty-five yards of the besieged. 
All farther defence was hopeless. Lincoln found himself 
obliged to capitulate. He had maintained his post with honor, 
if not with success ; had shown himself steadfast and firm, if 
not brilliant. For nearly three months, with less than four 
thousand ill-fed, ill-clad, and undisciplined militiamen, he had 
maintained himself in walls, the lines of which required, at 
least, thrice that number to man them, and had thus long baf- 
fled fully twelve thousand of the best troops in the British ser- 
vice, headed by their best generals. The terms of surrender 
were not harsh in the case of a town reduced to extremity. 

78. What was the approach of the British, on the 11th of May? 79. What was Lin- 
coln now compelled to do? SO. What is said of hie conduct? 



THE CONQUEST OF THE INTERIOR. 247 



CHAPTER V. 

FROM THE FALL OF CHARLESTOWN TO THE DEFEAT OF 
GATES AT CAMDEN 1780. 

The ill success of this first attempt, in the American war, to 
defend a city, approves of the general policy of Washington on 
this subject. The sterner wisdom, by which the city should 
have been sacrificed to the preservation of the army, would 
have produced far less evil to the state. 

The conquest of the interior rapidly followed the loss of the 
city. The troops, which might have successfully baffled the 
march of the invader through the forests, were in his power ; 
and his progress, for a while, was almost entirely uninterrupted 
through the country. 

Lieutenant-Colonel Tarleton, of the British army, a soldier 
more remarkable for the rapidity of his movements than for 
his talents, and more notorious for the sanguinary warfare which 
he pursued in Carolina, than for any other better qualities, com- 
menced a career of victory, as a cavalry leader, soon after the 
landing of the enemy, which was continued for a long period 
after witli little interruotion. 

While Clinton was pressing the siege of the city, he achieved 
sundry small but complete successes, that deprived the garrison 
of most of those advantages which necessarily must have re- 
sulted from their keeping a body of troops in the field. 

On the 18th of March, 1780, he surprised a party of eighty 
militiamen, at the Saikehatchie bridge, many of whom were 
slain and wounded, and the rest dispersed. He was equally 
successful, a few days after, against a second party which he 
surprised near Ponpon. On tlie 27th, he encountered Lieuten- 

1. What followed the reduction of Charlestown ? 2. Wbat is said of Colonel Tarle- 
ton ? 8. What did he while the siege was in progress ? 4. Whom did he surprise at 
Saikehatchie V — and Ponpon ? 



248 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

ant-Colonel Washington, at the head of a regular corps of horse, 
between the Ashley river ferry and Hantowle's bridge on the 
Stono. Here his successes were temporarily arrested. The 
advantage lay with the Americans. The cavalry of the British 
legion was driven back, and lost several persons ; but, wanting 
infantry, Washington did not venture to pursue his advantages. 

At the beginning of the siege, General Lincoln ordered the 
regular cavalry, three hundred in number, to keep the field, and 
the country militia were required to support them as infantry. 
The militia, on various pretences, refused to attach themselves 
to the cavalry ; and this important body of horse was surprised 
at Monk's Corner by a superior force under Lieutenant-Colonels 
Tarleton and Webster. About twenty-five of the Americans 
were killed or taken. The fugitives found shelter in the neigh- 
boring swamps, from whence ihey made their way across the 
Santee. 

Under the conduct of Colonel White, they recrossed the San- 
tee a few weeks after this event, captured a small British party, 
and carried them to Lenud's ferry. But the victors were followed 
closely by Tarleton, v;ith a superior force, and charged before 
they could get over the ferry. Retreat was impracticable, and 
resistance proved unavaiHng. A total rout ensued. A party 
of the American force, under Major Call, cut their way through 
the British and escaped. Colonel White, with another party, 
saved themselves by swimming the Santee. Thirty were killed, 
wounded, or taken ; the residue found refuge in the swamps. 

These repeated disasters were not the only consequences 
arising from the fall of Charlestown. That event was followed 
by a train of circumstances, which, while they disgraced the 
British soldiery, exhausted the spirits and resources of the coun- 
try. The invasion of Provost, recorded in a previous chapter, 
had been followed by scenes of devastation and acts of pillage 
which woul(4 have shamed a Tartar banditti. But these acts 
were ascribed to the tories and Indians in his retinue. 

The invasion of Charlestown was notorious from like causes ; 

5. Who did he encounter at Eantowle's, and with what result ? 6. What troops wero 
surprised at Monk's Corner? 7. What of the fugitives under Colonel White? 8. By 
whom defeated, and where ? 9. What of the exces&ies of the British ? 



THE CONQUEST OF THE INTEEIOR. 249 

but the loyalists and Indians were no longer obnoxious to the 
charge. The royal troops were the robbers, and their com- 
manders openly shared in the proceeds of the plunder. Thou- 
sands of slaves were shipped to a market in the West Indies. 
Mercantile stores, gold and silver plate, indigo, the produce of 
the country, became equally convertible to the purposes of these 
wholesale plunderers, with whom nothing went amiss. They 
plundered by system, forming a general stock, and designating 
commissaries of captures. Spoil, collected in this way, was 
sold for the benefit of the royal army ; and some idea of the 
quantity brought to market may be formed from the fact, that 
though prices must have been necessarily low in so small a 
community, yet the division of a major-general was more than 
four thousand guineas. Apart from what was sold in Carolina, 
several vessels were sent abroad for a market, laden with the 
rich spoils taken from the inhabitants. 

In the capitulation of Charlestown, Lincoln had surrendered 
all the forces within the city proper, including all the conti- 
nental or regular troops within the state. Moultrie, Gadsden, 
all the field-officers of the low country, were prisoners on parole. 
This capitulation was supposed to include the people of the state 
at large, as well as the city ; and it pledged the royal go^•ern- 
ment to their protection^ or was thought to do so, so long as they 
remained peaceful. The officer of highest rank within the 
state, not a prisoner, was General Andrew Williamson, of Cam- 
bridge. This person, as we remember, had behaved well in the 
wars of the frontiers, and in all the early conflicts with the loy- 
alists. He was by birth a Scotchman, had been a cow-herd, or 
cow-driver, as he was called, and was singularly illiterate, 
scarcely able to write his own name. But, among the new set- 
tlers of the back country, he possessed great influence, was an 
admirable woodsman, and had acquired property. But, when 
the British began to make progress in Georgia, it \tas observed 
that he w^as tardy in taking the field. He failed, in several 
cases, to appear in season to be of service. While Charlestown 
was in danger, and wanting troops, he had some three hundred 

10. "What persons were included, and supposed to be included, in the capitulation 
of the city? 11. Wlio was General Williamson ? 12. What were his services? 

11* 



250 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

militiamen in armsfwliom he never brought, or offered to bring, 
to the succor of the beleaguered city. In the history of Geor- 
gia, he is distinctly denounced, as even then in the pay of the 
British, having been corrupted by Cameron, the Indian agent of 
the British, and as having a British commission in his pocket. 
But these suspicions, at that time, were confined to very few 
persons ; and when, at the fall of Charlestown, he summoned 
the officers of the militia of the interior to meet and con- 
sult with him at M'Lean's avenue, near Augusta, they did so, 
having the most perfect confidence in his fidelity, ability, and 
zeal. There were numerous small parties of militia in South 
Carolina and Georgia, which were in the habit of co-operating, 
and, as rangers, were perpetually on the wing, in pursuit of the 
lories. The captains and other officers of these parties as- 
sembled and met him at a special rendezvous, where he unfolded 
the condition of the country, showed its lack of resources, the 
absence of all continental troops, the difficulty of maintaining 
themselves, and then submitted the terms which had been agreed 
upon in the capitulation of Charlestown, and the privileges of 
which were supposed to be accorded to all the state. He was 
circumspect, but his bias was obvious enough. He discouraged 
many — discouraged all, in fact — and the result of his proceed- 
ing was to disband his- militia, while he retired to his own resi- 
dence, near Cambridge, where he seems to have awaited the 
period when he could render his submission to the enemy with 
decency and safety. He finally took refuge with them in 
Charlestown, and was popularly branded with the epithet of the 
" Arnold of Carolina." Subsequently, it is well known, he 
was again seduced into becoming a spy for the Americans in 
the British camp ; and Marion obtained for himself and Greene 
the greater part of his information in respect to the operations 
of the enemy from this doubly-polluted fountain. 

But, disbanding the militia, giving up the conflict, and, per- 
haps, working in secret upon his officers, he influenced certain 

13. What were the imputations against him V 14. Who did he summon to meet him, 
and where? 15. What parties were still at large in the country? 16. How did Wil- 
liamson depict the affairs of the state? 17. What did he with his command? — and 
whither did he retire ? IS. What epithet was subsequently given hira ? 19. How was 
he doubly a traitor? 



THE CONQUEST OF THE INTERIOR. 251 

of them to make terras with the enemy also. They were 
ignorant men — wanting in mind, perhaps, rather than moral — 
and Williamson's influence was paramount. It was easy to 
persuade them that Congress could do nothing for the rescue of 
the state, and it was very clear that the state, with its chief 
men in captivity, and with neither money nor munitions, could 
do but little for herself. 

But there were some stout rangers, colonels and captains, who 
felt differently, even though they may have thought despond- 
ingly. Pickens, the Hammonds, M'Call, Hampton, Liddle, and 
other South Carolinians, with Governor Hawley, of Georgia, 
and the gallant Colonels Dooley and Clarke, of Georgia, re- 
solved otherwise, and preferred a present flight to regions of se- 
curity, from whence they might emerge in power, to a base, sub- 
mission, w^hich promised only security^ for life. They disap- 
peared, and, with Williamson's submission and their J^ight, the 
country appeared wholly prostrate at the feet of the invader. 
But this was in seeming only, and during a brief period of pa- 
ralysis, the natural consequence of the fall of the chief city and 
the capture of the army which had been regularly organized. 

The capital having surrendered,. the next object of the Brit- 
ish was to secure the general submission of the state. To this 
end, the victors marched with a large body of troops over the 
Santee, toward the populous settlements of North Carolina, and 
planted garrisons at prominent points of the country during 
their progress. Their advance caused the retreat of several 
small bodies of Americans, which had approached with the 
view to the relief of Charlestown. 

One of these, commanded by Colonel Buford, consisting of 
three or four hundred men, was pursued by Tarleton with a 
force about double that number. Tarleton came upon Buford 
near the Wexhaws. Buford neither promptly yielded nor 
promptly prepared for battle. He behaved without decision. 
A battle ensued, in which Buford was defeated. The cry of his 
troops for quarter produced no effect upon the assailants. The 

20. What was his influence upon the oflScers and militia ? 21 . Did he influence all ? 
— and -who were most conspicuous in their withdrawal ? 22. What was the apparent 
condition of the state after this ? 23. After the fall of the capital, what was the course 
of the British ? 



262 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

battle was a mere massacre, in which, according to Tarleton's 
own account of the bloody business, five in six of the whole 
body of the Americans were either killed or so badly mangled 
as to be incapable of removal from the field of battle ; and the 
British did not lose a dozen men. 

To the errors of Buford may be ascribed the defeat of his 
party ; but the effect of this wanton massacre was beneficial to 
the countr^' . The Americans were taught to expect no indul- 
gence from their foes. " Tarleton's quarter " became proverbial, 
and a spirit of revenge, in all subsequent battles, gave a keener 
edge to the military resentments of the people. 

The British commander-in-chief followed up these severe 
and sanguinary lessons by proclamations, which denounced ven- 
geance against all who still continued in arms ; while ofl^ering 
" to the inhabitants, with a few exceptions, pardon for their past 
treasonable offences, and a reinstatement in the possession of all 
those rights and immunities which they had enjoyed under the 
British government, exempt from taxation, except by their own 
legislatures." 

Suffering from the sword, their armies overthrown, the state 
everywhere in the hands of the foe, and no help apparent at 
the hands of Congress, the people numerously listened to these 
specious offers, and abandoned for a few weeks every hope of 
successful resistance. From several parts of the state, the cit- 
izens gave in their adhesion to the royal authority, and, believing 
his conquests to be complete. Sir Henry Clinton sailed from 
Charlestown to New York, leaving to Lord Cornwallis the chief 
command of the southern department. 

The seeming general submission of the inhabitants was fol- 
lowed by a temporary calm. The British believed the state to 
be thoroughly conquered. With this conviction, they proposed 
to extend their arms to the conquest of the neighboring states ; 
and their own force, now, of five thousand men,being inadequate to 
this object, they conceived a plan to carry out their operations, 
which had the effect of undoing much which had been done by 

24. Describe the massacre of Buford's detachment. 25. What is said of Buford ? 
26. What was the etfect of this massacre ? 27. What proclamations were issued by 
the British general? 28. What effect had they? 29. Who succeeded to Clinton in 
command ? 



THE CONQUEST OF* THE INTERIOR. 253 

their arms and previous policy. They summoned the inhabit- 
ants to repair to the Bi-itish standard. Paroles given to citi- 
zens, not actually taken in Charlestown, were declared null and 
void, and the holders of them were called upon to act the part 
of British subjects, by appearing in arms at a certain time, un- 
der pain of being treated as rebels to his majesty's government. 

From this moment, the British popularity and power began 
to decline ; and the seeming submission which followed this 
command v/as the disguise assumed by disaffection, under the 
pressure of necessity. The mask was thrown aside by the 
greater number at the first sound of the signal trumpet which 
rallied the patriots under the banner of Sumter, Marion, Pick- 
ens, and many other patriots, who were as chivalrous in the 
pursuit of glory as they vvere earnest in their attachment to 
their country. 

But we must not anticipate. Governor Rutledge had, for- 
tunately, left Charlestown before the unfortunate finish of the 
siege, the better to employ himself in other states for the benefit 
of his own. He personally sought the several authorities and 
people of North Carolina, Virginia, and, finally, Congress, and 
received liberal promises from all. With these, he returned to 
South Carolina, full of hope, to give vigor and concentrative 
energy to all the efforts that might be employed against the 
invader. 

Meanwhile, General Rutherford had succeeded in raising fif- 
teen hundred men, whom he brought together at Charlotte 
(N. C), the well-known " Hornet's Nest," as this whig region 
was called by the British. 

This force was sufiicient to discourage the approach of 
Tarleton in that quarter ; and Lord Rav/don, who had estab- 
lished a post at the Wexhaws, deemed it now prudent to aban- 
don it. 

But time was required to arouse the country ; and, in the 
meanwhile, under British auspices, the loyalists grew active and 
audacious. A large body of these, embodied in North Caro- 

30. What further proceedings roused the people ? — and what was the effect on Brit- 
ish power? 31. What patriot leaders appeared in the field? 82. What did Gover- 
nor Kutledge do? 33. WHiat General Eutherford? 34. Where was tlie Hornet's 
Nest?" 85. What discouraged Tarleton and m.ade Rawdon abandon the Wexhaws? 



254 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

Una, had collected at Ramsour's on the 22d of June, 1780, un- 
der a Colonel Moore. A detachment of Rutherford's force, 
under Colonel Locke, attacked and defeated them. Other par- 
ties of loyalists were growing in both the states. But they did 
not grow alone. Their rising sufficed to give new spirit to the 
old-line whigs and patriots. They, too, soon showed them- 
selves in the field, here and there, in North and South Caro- 
lina, in bodies more or less numerous, mostly small at first, and 
badly armed, but full of eagerness and, perhaps, vindictive pas- 
sions. There was one small troop of South Carolinians which 
had retreated before the British, from the Swamp regions, as 
the latter advanced into the back country. This party was led 
by Colonel Sumter, a gentleman who had formerly commanded 
one of the continental regiments, and who had already distin- 
guished himself by his fearless valor, great military talents, and 
unbending patriotism. Known to the. British by these qualities, 
they had wreaked their fury upon his dwelling, which they had 
burned to the ground with all its contents, after expeUing his 
wife and family from it. 

A sense of personal injurj^was thus superadded to that which 
roused his hostility in behalf of his country ; and, rallying his 
little force, which he strengthened by volunteers from North 
Carolina, he returned to his own state at the very moment when 
the cause of its liberty seemed most hopeless to the inhabitants. 

The attitude of this forlorn few was no less melancholy than 
gallant. The British were everywhere triumphant — the Amer- 
icans desponding — the state without any domestic goverment, 
and utterly unable to furnish supplies to this little band, whether 
of arms, clothing, or provisions. 

Never did patriotism take the field with so few encourage- 
ments or so many difficulties. The iron tools of the neighbor- 
ing farms — the ploughshare and the saw — were worked up 
into rude weapons of war by ordinary blacksmiths. The par- 
tisans supplied themselves, in part, with bullets by melting the 
pewter which was given them by private housekeepers. Some- 
times they came into battle with less than three rounds to a man ; 

86. What action, and between whom, took place at Eamsour's ? — and when? 
8T. What is said of Siiniter ? 8S. What of his private iryuries ? 



THE CONQUEST OP THE INTERIOR. • 255 

and one-half were obliged to keep at a distance until supplied 
by the fall of comrades or enemies with the arras which might 
enable them to engage in the conflict. When victorious, they 
relied upon the dead for the ammunition for their next cam- 
paign. The readiness with which these brave men resorted to 
the field under such circumstances, was the sufficient guaranty 
for their ultimate success. 

The British commander was suddenly aroused to fury by the 
tidings of this new champion in that field which he had so 
lately overrun. At a moment when Carolina lay, as he thought, 
lifeless and nerveless beneath his feet, her sword was waving 
in triumph above the heads of his warriors. The little force 
led by Sumter, consisting of less than one hundred and fifty 
men, soon distingui-^hed themselves by the defeat of a large de- 
tachment of British militia and tories, under the command of 
Colonel Ferguson of the former, and Captain Houck of the latter. 

The affair took place on the 12th of July, 1780, at William- 
son's plantation, in the upper part of the state. The British, 
not apprehending an enemy, were posted at disadvantage in a 
lane, both ends of which were entered at the same time by the 
Carolinians. 

Ferguson and Houck were both killed, and their men com- 
pletely routed and dispersed. At the fortunate moment in 
w^hich the attack was made, a number of prisoners were on their 
knees, vainly soliciting mercy for themselves and families at the 
hands of the British officers. Houck had become notorious for 
his cruel atrocities, in the very performance of which the retrib- 
utive Providence decreed that he should be slain. On this 
occasion, Colonel Bratton and Captain M'Clure especially dis- 
tinguished themselves. These two gallant officers had already 
made their mark upon a large body of marauding British and 
tories, in an affair only a month before at Mobley's meeting- 
house, in Fairfield district, where (June, 1780), and only a few 
weeks after the surrender of Charlestown, they had attacked 
the enemy, and, after a severe handling, succeeded in dispersing 

39. What were the dependences of the patriots ? 40. What was the afiFah* at Wil- 
liamson's phintation ? 41. "Who were surprised and slain ? 42. Who particularly dis- 
tinguished themselves in this affair? 4?., What had been their achievement at Mob- 
lov"s? 



256 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

tliem. One of the gallant young partisans, in the affair with 
Houck and Ferguson, became well known long afterward as 
the distinguished General Adair. 

The success of Sumter, and of the officers acting under him, 
rallied around him the people of the neighborhood, and his little 
force soon amounted to six hundred men. At the head of this 
force, on the 30th of the same month (July), he made a spirited, 
but unsuccessful, attack on the British post at Rocky Mount. 
Baffled in this attempt, he passed without delay to the attack of 
another post at the Hanging Rock, in which a large force of regu- 
lars and torieB were stationed. Here his assault was equally daring 
and more successful. The Prince of Wales' regiment was annihila- 
ted at a blow ; and the tories under Colonel Bryan, of North Caro- 
lina, after suffering severely, were totally routed and dispersed. 

These successes of Sumter and others, equally spirited and 
well managed, tended greatly to encourage the Carolinians, and 
to abate the panic which had been occasioned by the fall of 
their chief city. Little partisan squads rose in arms in every 
section of the state — falling upon British and tories whenever 
there was reasonable prospect of success, and pressing from 
point to point wherever they heard of the appearance of the loy- 
alist or British party. To the former, indeed, they principally 
addressed themselves. The British generally marched in force, 
or occupied commanding and fortified positions. The loyalists, 
with roving commissions, were scattered in small bodies, with 
whom the w^hig partisans could more hopefully match their 
strength ; and against these outlawed and hcentious people their 
passions had been roused to most vindictive extremities of hate, 
in consequence of their reckless, brutal, and sanguinary ex- 
cesses, which were habitually urged, and with a degree of fe- 
rocity which seemed designed to obscure even the bloody mas- 
sacres of Tarleton. All that was wanted by these scattered 
bands of patriots were good weapons, ample munitions, and an 
able military leader — prompt, energetic, vigilant, versed in 
stratagem, capable of guiding large bodies, and having the 

44. What yoimg partisan was it here who became distinguished afterward? 
45. What was the result of the attempt on Eocky Mount? 46. Wliat at Hanging 
Eock? 47. How were the Americans encouraged? 48. Against whom did the 
Whigs chiefly operate, and with what feeling? 



THE CONQUEST OF THE INTERIOR. 25T 

proper courage to show the way. The partisans chose their 
own leaders, severally ; and these were men better calculated 
for small commands of cavalry or riflemen than for the conduct 
of large bodies of men, in grand army. Such, at least, was the 
supposition, and hence the continual call upon the main array 
of Washington for general officers. But that our partisans 
were fully competent to the adroit management of the desul- 
tory warfare in which they engaged, the evidence is ample. We 
proceed to details. 

A collection of the scattered bodies, under Colonel E. Clarke, 
was made, which included the several commands of Clarke, 
with the Georgia volunteers — M'Call, Liddle, and Samuel 
Hammond, with the South Carolinians — in all some hundred 
and ninety men — proceeded to the neighborhood of Cedar 
Springs, Spartanburg (July, 1780). Here they were suddenly 
warned by two women, Mrs. Dillard and Mrs. Thomas, both 
of whom acted without the knowledge of each other, that they 
were shortly to be attacked by an overwhelming force of Brit- 
ish and tories, led by Colonel Dunlap. They prepared them- 
selves accordingly, and were all in readiness when the enemy 
came on, an hour before daylight. It was almost too dark to 
distinguish friends from foes. But the British, expecting to 
surprise the Americans, were, in some degree, themselves the 
sulyect of surprise. They were met firmly, hand to hand, and 
a fierce conflict ensued, in which they were defeated, and were 
pursued for near a mile. They lost twenty-eight of Dunlap's 
dragoons, and, perhaps, a score of loyalists. Most of the 
wounds given were with the broad-sword. On the retreat, 
Dunlap was joined by Colonel Ferguson, and their united 
forces were more than five hundred men. The Americans re- 
tired without precipitation or pursuit, and with the loss of but 
five killed and thirty wounded. 

Another of these little bands of patriots had been raised by 
Colonel James Williams, of Ninety-Six district — a gentleman 
who had previously made himself known by his valor, zeal, and 

49, What did the patriots lack ? 50. What collection took place of their several 
squads V 51. What was the affair at Cedar Springs? 52. What women advised the 
Americans of their danger ? 53. How did the fight terminate ? 



258 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

excellent spirit. He took the field about the same time with 
Sumter, Bratton, and others, and was destined to become fa- 
mous by his future exploits in guerilla warfare. He was indefati- 
gable in collecting and animating the militia in and around the 
district of Ninety-Six, and with these he perpetually harassed 
the marauding squadrons of the British. 

On the 18th of August, almost at the very moment when 
Gates found himself a fugitive at Camden, Williams, assisted 
by Bratton, Shelby, McDowel, Inman, and others, achieved one 
of his happiest successes at Musgrove's mill (Gordon's), with 
an inferior force of one hundred and fifty men, against a British 
and loyalist force of three hundred men, one half of whom v:ere 
regulars, under the command of Colonel Innis, assisted by Ma- 
jor Fraser. Williams formed a very pretty little ambuscade 
along the river thickets, for his enemy, and, by adroit manage- 
ment, succeeded in drawing the British colonel into it. Innis was 
surrounded by a circular fire, at the moment he supposed him- 
self to be riding down a band of fugitives. The sharp-shooters 
of Williams and his colleagues, then poured in their fires, and 
rushed upon the foe. Taken by surprise, confounded by as- 
sailants on every hand, Innis and Fraser fled, with their regu- 
lars, breaking through the fiery circle, but at great loss of life. 
His militia were left to their fate ; and such of them as did not 
bite the dust, were made prisoners. They lost nearly ninety 
men slain, and one hundred prisoners. 

Williams, from this and other adventures, became the hero 
of the popular ballad. We have fragments of rustic verse, 
which show how strongly he had impressed himself on the 
confidence of the people. We shall hear of him, in future 
pages, and behold him crowning a career of noble adventure 
with a heroic death ! 

The sudden appearance in the field of such men as Sumter, 
Marion, Williams, etc., almost simultaneously, in so many dif- 
ferent parts of the state, at once dissipated all the fairy bright 
imaginations of the British, which had made them declare the 

54. What of Colonel James Williams? 55. What was the affair at Musgrove's? 
66. Who were defeated, and with what loss ? 57. What is said of Williams ? 58. What 
was the effect upon the British of this revival of the conflict ? 



THE CONQUEST OF THE INTERIOR. 259 

country conquered. In less than six weeks after the fall of 
Charlestown, hundreds of bold and daring champions, had 
sprung up, like the dragon's teeth, from the soil, and each of 
them had achieved some notable successes. They lacked but 
arms and armor. The soul was there — the spirit — but they 
had to present the naked bosom to the foe ; had to wait the 
death of comrades before they could find the weapons of war 
with which to rush into battle ; had to strive, with the imple- 
ments of the shepherd, against the mailed warriors of Christen- 
dom 1 

But they were suddenly encouraged by tidings of great joy. 
They were to be furnished with weapons, and armor, and mu- 
nitions, and a regular army was marching to their relief; and 
there was sent to marshal them to victory, a great general, 
whose name, at this period, was music in every patriot ear, as 
the synonyme of victory ! This was General Gates, the hero 
of Saratoga; the rival, for renown, of Washington himself; 
with a reputation gradually obscuring that of the commander- 
in-chief. 

It was now known that a strong body of contiiicntals, very 
much exaggerated in numbers by report, was on its way to the 
relief of the South, and Gates was ordered to take charge of 
the army. While the siege of Charlestown was impending, 
some fourteen hundred continentals, consisting of the Delaware 
and Maryland lines, had been ordered by congress to its relief. 
They were confided to the command of Major- General Baron 
De Kalb, a brave German, and an officer of European experi- 
ence. But, lacking means of transportation, without cash or 
credit, and relying, for facilities of march, upon states so thinly 
settled and resourceless as Virginia and North Carolina, the 
progress of these troops had been too slow for the succor of the 
besieged city. They were still on the march when the tidings 
were received of the fall of Charlestown. 

But the march was not arrested. De Kalb led his men with 
a proper care, and with due regard to their sufferings, which 
were great, through a wild and almost uninhabited region. 

59. What is said of tlie Americans? 60. What was the promise at this season? 
61. Who were on the march for the South ? 62. What delayed thcra ? 



260 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

He had pushed his progress to the South by the direct route 
from Petersburg in Virginia for Camden in South Carolina. 
On the 6th of July, he reached Deep river, and halted at Cox's 
mills to collect provisions, and determine upon his future course. 

Here, he was overtaken, and superseded in command, by 
General Gates. The arrival of Gates increased the activity 
of this little army, without improving its condition. Gates, 
unhappily, was one of those men whom success intoxicates and 
destroys. He had no sooner arrived than he issued orders to 
his troops to hold themselves in readiness for marching, and, on 
the 27th, the army was under way, over a barren country, to 
Monk's ferry, in direct opposition to the counsel of all his officers. 

The troops were without provisions and clothes, many with- 
out arms, and suffering from fatigue, from a protracted journey, 
at every step of which they had been compelled to undergo the 
most severe privations. Still, the army was increased in its 
progress by accessions, from Virginia and the Carolinas, of 
lean detachments; and, with a little delay to permit of the 
coming in of the militia, and the procuring of arms and sup-- 
plies, it might have been swollen to a very respectable force of 
four or five thousand men. 

Sanguine of success, and pressing on with the despatch which 
was all that this unfortunate general seemed to think necessary 
to secure it, he reached Clermont, where he encamped on the 
13th of August. 

Here, he was informed, by Colonel Sumter, of the advance 
of a considerable convoy of British wagons, on the route from 
M' Cord's ferry to Camden, and solicited by that brave partisan 
for a small reinforcement to enable him to capture them. Four 
hundred men were detached on this service ; vrhile General 
Gates put the army under marching orders to Camden, where 
the British maintained a strong post, under the command of 
Lord Rawdon. On the night of the loth, at ten o'clock, the 
Americans moved from Rugely's mills, little dreaming of the 
terrible fate which awaited them. 

63. Who superseded De Kalb? 64. What the condition of the army? 65. When 
did Gates reach Clermont? 66. What application was made by Sumter ? 67. When 
did Gates move from Eugely's ? 



THE CONQUEST OF THE INTERIOR. 261 

Gates was in ignorance of several facts wliicli he might have 
known, but did not know, and which it was of infinite impor- 
tance to his objects that he should have known. He was igno- 
rant that, by forced marches, Lord Cornwalhs had reached 
Camden from Charlestown, bringing with him a considerable 
detachment. With a picked force of more than two thousand 
men, Cornwallis, an enterprising commander, took up his line 
of march from Camden, to meet his enemy, at the very hour 
when Gates left Clermont. The latter had given himself little 
time to learn anything. He committed a variety of blunders. 
He undervalued cavalry, one of the most important portions 
of every army, and one particularly important in a level and 
sparsely settled country like that through which he had to 
march. 

He hurried his men, when fatigued, without necessity, and 
commenced a night movement v/ith untried militia, in the face 
of an enemy. In this march he showed none of that vigilance 
upon which the success of all military enterprises must mainly 
•depend. 

Lord Cornwallis, on the contrary, appears to have been ac- 
curately informed of every particular in relation to the Ameri- 
cans, which it was important for him to know. It is even said 
that an emissary»of the British commander succeeded in pass- 
ing himself upon Gates as a fugitive from Camden, and, having 
won his confidence, made his escape to his British employer. 

In a fatal state of security, the result of his own self-delusion, 
the commander of the American army hurried his troops for- 
ward, blindly, to their doom. The armies felt each other at 
midnight. The fire of the British advance first announced to 
the Americans the presence of their foes. The cavalry of Ar- 
mand's legion wheeled and fled at the first discharge ; but the 
infantry, under Colonel Porterfield, which was advancing in 
files, on the right of the road, coolly returned the fire, and the 
march of the enemy was checked. 

As if by tacit consent, the respective armies recoiled, and 

68. What enemy was approaching him? 69. What were Gates' errors? 70. What 
of Cornwallis? 71. When did tlie two armies meet? 72. What happened at their 
first meeting? 



262 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

prepared to await the daylight for the conclusion of the strife. 
The Americans were quickly formed for battle. The first 
Maryland division, including the Delawares, under De Kalb, 
was posted on the right ; the Virginia militia, under Stevens, 
on the left ; the North Carolinians, under Caswell, held the 
centre ; the artillery, in battery,- upon the road. Both wings 
rested on morasses, and the second Maryland brigade was 
posted a few hundred yards in the rear of the first, to act as 
the reserve. The British were formed in a single line, with 
the wings covered and supported by bodies in reserve. 

The battle began with the dawn of day (August 16). It 
was brought on by the advance of the American left on the 
British right, which had the appearance of being in some con- 
fusion. The reception w^hich the Virginians met proved this 
to have been an error; they were repulsed, and, the British 
charging, at this moment, with a cheer, the Virginians fled in 
the utmost confusion, many of them without even discharging 
their pieces. 

This unworthy example was followed by the North Carolina 
militia, with the exception of a single corps, under Major Dixon. 

The cavalry of Armand, which had behaved with so little 
resolution in the encounter of the night, increased the panic by 
a second and irretrievable flight; and the continentals stood 
alone, abandoned by the militia, and maintaining their ground 
as they could, against the entire force of the British army. 

The artillery was lost ; the cavalry — a miserable apology 
for a legion, made up of the worthless outcasts of foreign ser- 
vice — were swallowed up in the woods ; and the regular in- 
fantry, reduced to a mere point in the field, and numbering but 
nine hundred men, were now compelled, to bear the undivided 
pressure of two thousand men. 

But they resisted this pressure nobly, and, their bayonets 
locking with those of the foe, bore them back upon the field, in 
many places, yielding them prisoners from the very heart of 
the British line. 

73. How did the Americans form for battle? 74. How the British ? 75. When did 
the battle begin ? 76. How did the Virginia militia behave ? 77. Who followed their 
example? 78. What did Armand'a cavalry? 79, Upon whom did the brunt of bat- 
tle fall V 



THE CONQUEST OF THE INTERIOR. 26B 

This triumph was momentary only — these gallant men were 
unsupported. De Kalb had already fallen under eleven wounds ; 
Gates had fled, or was borne from the field by the flying militia; 
and Cornwallis, observing that there was no cavalry opposed to 
him, poured in his dragoons, nov/ returning from pursuit of the 
fugitives, and ended the contest. 

Never did men behave better than the continentals ; but they 
were now compelled to fly. The only chance that remained to 
avoid a surrender on the field, and escape from the sabres of 
the dragoons, in whom the British were very strong, was to 
break away for the morass in their rear, into which they could 
not be pursued by cavalry. 

This was done, and by this measure, alone, did any part of 
this devoted corps find safety. The Americans lost the whole 
of their artillery, upward of two hundred wagons, and all their 
baggage. The loss of the British, in killed and wounded, was 
about three hundred. Though the royal army fought with 
great bravery, they must have been beaten but for the flight 
of the mihtia. The terrible conflict which followed with the 
continentals, proves what must have been the event, had the 
former behaved like men. 

80. V^hat of De Kalb and Gates ? 81. What did Cornwallis ? 82. How did the con- 
tinentals ? 83. "Where did, they seek refuge ? 84. What were the respective losses, 
British and American ? 



264 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 



CHAPTER VI. 

SUMTER MARION THE BATTLE OF KING'S MOUNTAIN. 

The militia composed so large a part of General Gates's 
army, that he lost all hopes of victory on seeing them leave the 
field. He does not seem to have used any generalship, and 
nothing can be said of his heroism. His flight was thence to 
Clermont and Charlotte, where he hoped to rally the fugitives. 
It was in the midst of the hurry of flight that he was overtaken 
by a courier, who brought him the consoling intelligence of the 
complete success of Sumter in his enterprise. He had suc- 
ceeded in his attempt against Carey's fort on the Wateree, had 
captured the garrison, and intercepted the escort with the wagons 
and stores. 

On hearing of the defeat of Gates, Sumter began his retreat 
up the south side of the Wateree. He was pursued by Tarle- 
ton with wonderful address and celerity, followed by his legion 
and a detachment of infantry. 

The movements of Sumter were necessarily and greatly im- 
peded by his captives. He had with him forty baggage-wagons, 
filled with booty of the very kind that the Americans were most 
in need of. He was encumbered, also, by three hundred pris- 
oners. 

Tarieton, never relaxing his pursuit a moment, succeeded in 
overtaking Sumter. He came suddenly upon the camp of the 
Americans, near Fishing creek, and a complete surprise was 
effected. The British cavalry burst upon the mihtiamen when 
there was not a man standing to his arms, and threw themselves 
between the men and the parade where their muskets were 

1. What is said of Gates's flight and generalship ? 2. What success did Sumter 
achieve on the Wateree ? 3. By whom was he pursued, and with what force ? 4. What 
impeded his retreat ? 



SUMTER. 265 

Stacked. The videttes were probably sleeping on their posts, 
seduced into a false security by the belief that the foe was at a 
distance. Not a drum was beat to arms, and no alarm given 
which could apprize the Americans of the approach of danger. 
The rout was total. A few of the regulars- maintained a fire 
from behind the wagons for a while, in hopes of rallying the 
militia, but without success. Their opposition only served to 
infuriate the dragoons. The carnage was dreadful, and the 
aggregate- loss in killed, wounded, and prisoners, was very 
little short of that sustained by Gates in his defeat of the 
16th. 

Sumter himself had the good fortune to escape ; but very few 
of his officers or men got off. Of . the prisoners taken in these 
two battles by the British, several were selected, bound with 
cords, and carried to Camden, where they were hung without 
trial as rebels, under the express order of Lord Cornwallis. 

Nor was this the only measure of severity adopted by the 
invaders. In almost every section of the state, their progress 
was marked with blood, and with other deeds of equal atrocity. 
Many of the militia were executed on various and worthless 
pretexts, and most frequently without even the form of trial. 
Private citizens were made close prisoners on board of prison- 
ships, where they perished of foul diseases and without attend- 
ance. From Charlestown alone, after the defeat of Gates, sixty 
of the principal inhabitants were transported to St. Augustine, 
where they were subjected equally to bondage and every form 
of indignity, and kept as so many hostages for the good beha- 
vior of the citizens. After Andre's execution, these hostages 
were frequently threatened with the halter, in retaliation for 
the fate of Andre. The determination of the British com- 
mander seemed to be to annihilate the spirit of independence 
by trampling upon the persons of its best asserters. This was 
a short-sighted poHcy. True manhood is never more resolute 
than when it feels itself wronged, and the Carolinians were 

5. Where was he surprised, and by what neglect of duty ? 6. What was the result 
of this affair ? 7. What became of Sumter ? 8. Of the prisoners in tlie British hands ? 
9, What was the general treatment of people and militia ? 10. What inhabitants were 
transported to St. Augustine, and with what object? 11. With what fate were they 
threatened, and why ? 12. What is said of the British policy in this proceeding ? 

1 2 



266 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

never more determined for their liberties than in the moment of 
their greatest denial and disaster. 

General Gates, after several ineffectual attempt's to rally his 
men, finally retired to Hillsborough, in North Carolina, to so- 
licit the support of the state legislature, then in session. Here, 
upon bringing together the remnant of his little army, it was 
found to number little more than one thousand men. In South 
Carolina, after the dispersion of Sumter's command, there did 
not remain a man in arms, except a small band embodied by 
Marion. The other partisans, after Williams's victory over In- 
nis, had been compelled to take refuge in the mountains. Mar- 
ion found his security in the swamps. 

This able partisan maintained his ground below and along 
the Santee river, and managed, among the defiles and swamps 
of that region, to elude all the activity of his enemies. His 
force had been collected chiefly among his own neighbors, were 
practised in the swamps, and familiar with the country. Like 
Sumter, utterly unfurnished with the means of war at first, he 
procured them by similar means. He took possession of the 
saws from the mills, and converted them into sabres. So much 
was he distressed for ammunition, that he has engaged in battle 
when he had not three rounds of powder to each man of his 
party. At other times, without any, his men have been brought 
in sight of the foe simply that their number might be displayed. 
For weeks, however, his force did not exceed seventy -five ; 
sometimes they were reduced to one-third that number — all 
volunteers from the militia. 

Yet, even with this inconsiderable band, he maintained his 
ground, secure amidst hundreds of tory enemies, who hung 
around his footsteps with all that watchful hostility which the 
peculiar animosities of civil warfare is so likely to sharpen into 
personal hatred. Various were the means employed to draw 
off or drive away his followers. The houses on the banks of 
the Pedee, Lynch's creek, and Black river, from whence they 

13. Whither did Gates retire V — and what army had he ? 14. What band still re- 
mained embodied in South Carolina ? 15. How did Marion arm his men ? — and un- 
der what conditions did he employ them? 16. How did the British treat the liousea 
and plantations of his followers ? 



MARION. 267 

were chiefly taken, were destroyed by fire, the plantations de- 
vastated, and the negroes carried away. 

But the effect of* this wantonness was far other than had been 
intended. Revenge and despair confirmed the pati'iotism of 
these ruined men, and strengthened their resolution ; and the 
indiscriminate fury of the foe only served equally to increase 
their numbers and their zeal. For months, their only shelter 
was the green wood and the swamp — their only cover the 
broad forest and the arch of heaven. Hardened by exposure, 
and stimulated by the strongest motives of patriotism and feel- 
ing, they sallied forth from these hiding-places when their pres- 
ence was least expected ; and the first tidings of their approach 
were conveyed in the flashing sabre and the whizzing shot. 
They were perpetually engaged in skirmishes which history 
does not record, and which are only cherished in local tradition. 

With a policy that nothing could distract — a caution that no 
artifice could mislead — Marion led his followers from thicket 
to thicket in safety, and was never more perfectly secure than 
when he was in the neighborhood of his foe. He hung upon 
his flanks along the march — he skirted his camp in the dark- 
ness of the night — he lay in wait for his foraging parties — he 
shot down his sentries, and, flying or advancing, he never failed 
to harass the invader, and extort from him a bloody toll at every 
passage through swamp, thicket, or river, which his smaller par- 
ties made. 

In this sort of warfare — which is peculiarly adapted to the 
peculiarities of the country in Carolina, and consequently to the 
genius of her people — he contrived almost wholly to break up 
the British communications by one of the most eligible routes 
between the seaboard and the interior ; and a masterly enter- 
prise, marked with the boldness and intelligence that distin- 
.guished all his movements, drew on him the anxious attention 
of his enemy, and made it necessary for Cornwallis to dislodge 
him. 

Hearing that a body of prisoners taken at the defeat of Gates, 

IT. What effect had this treatment upon them ? IS. How did they live ? 19. What 
is said of their frequent skirmishes. 20. Wliat were his stratagems ? 21, How does 
this sort of warfare suit the region ? — and why ? 



268 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

about one luindred and fifty in number, were under march to 
Charlestown, under a strong escort, Marion determined upon 
their rescue. Placing his mounted militia in ambush, in one of 
the swamps that skirt the wood from Nelson's ferry to Monk's 
Corner, he darted upon the escort, and succeeded in taking the 
whole party captive. Having put the arras of the British into 
the hands of the rescued Americans, he hurried across the San- 
tee, and did not pause until his prisoners were safely disposed 
of within the limits of North Carolina. He was far upon his 
way beyond the arm of danger, before the parties detached by 
Cornwallis, to drive him from his covert, had reached the scene 
of his enterprise. 

The temporary departure of Marion left South Carolina almost 
wholly abandoned to the enemy ; but the fruits of his daring 
and success w^ere yet to be seen. Opposition to the British was 
never wholly extinct in the state, even when it may have most 
appeared so ; and soon after the defeat of Sumter, on the I8th 
of August, he began to recruit his force from among the people 
of York district — a section of the state which had never made 
any concessions to the invader. 

Major Davie, another enterprising officer, had, about this 
time, equipped, as dragoons, some fifty or sixty men in the same 
neighborhood ; and these two bands were still in arms, though 
quiet, and only waiting for the occasion which was to call them 
into renewed activity. It is probable that the knowledge of the 
existence of these and other growing parties drew the attention 
of the British commander to this part of the country. 

Colonel Ferguson, a brave and efficient leader of the seventy- 
first British regiment, appeared among these bold borderers 
with a strong and disorderly force, consisting of loyalists and 
British, nearly fifteen hundred in number. His march through 
the country was distinguished by every sort of atrocity and vio- 
lence. The lively representations of those who had suffered at 
the hands of these marauders, awakened the mountaineers to a 
sense of their own danger. Hitherto, they had only heard of 

22. What captives did Marion rescue ? — and where ? 23. Did opposition to the Brit- 
ish general ever cease in Sontli Carolina ? 24. Who raised a dragoon corps in York? 
25. Who was Colonel Ferguson '! — and what force did he lead ? 26. IIow was his 
march distinguished ? 



THE BATTLE OF KING'S MOUNTAIN. 269 

war at a distance ; and, in the peaceable possession of that in- 
dependence for which their countrymen along the seaboard had 
been contending, they had probably been rather more indiffer- 
ent to the issue than their own interests and sympathies could 
well have justified. 

The approach of Ferguson aroused them from their apathy, 
and they determined to embody themselves for their own de- 
fence. Being all mounted men, and unincumbered with bag- 
gage, their movements were prompt and rapid. Each man set 
forth with his blanket and rifle, in the manner of a hnnter, and 
as if in pursuit only of the wild beasts of the forest. The 
earth was his couch at night, and the skies his covering. The 
running stream quenched his thirst, and the wild game of the 
woods, or the cattle which he drove before him, supplied him 
with food. The several bands thus collected from remote tracts 
— from the waters of Cumberland, Virginia, or from the Saluda 
and Savannah in Carolina, and the wild valleys of Watauga in 
the West — rendezvoused, at length, among the passes of the 
mountains in South Carolina. 

There was some fifteen hundred men thus collected, especi- 
ally for the pursuit of Ferguson. He, meanwhile, was making 
his way, as was supposed, to unite with Cornwallis. It was im- 
portant to overtake him before he could effect this junction. Ac- 
cordingly, nine hundred and ten, of the best mounted of the 
army, was selected to urge the pursuit. They were all gun- 
men, and on the best horses ; and they sped with the eagerness 
of hunters who have roused the prey. 

Ferguson was one of the ablest of the British light-infantry 
officers. He was specially renowned as a leader of riflemen, 
and had himself made considerable improvements in the rifle, 
and its use. His force was mixed, of British regulars and loy- 
alists. The latter, it was known, would fight. They fought 
with halters round their necks ; they, too, were expert riflemen. 

The Americans overtook Ferguson within five or six miles 
of King's Mountain proper. He occupied one of its lower 

27. Whom did it arouse ? — and how did tlicy talce the field ? 28. From what re- 
mote tracts were they drawn V — and where did they rendezvous ? 29. How many men 
did they detach in pursuit ? 80. What is said of Colonel Ferguson ? 81. Of his troops, 
regulars and loyalists ? 32. Where was he overtaken ? 



270 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

ridges, and was, no doubt, surprised while speeding to the secu- 
rity of the mountain. Had he reached this eminence, he would 
probably have been secure, at least for a time, and against the 
sort of warfare under which he fell. But, when overtaken, he 
was in possession only of one of the lower steps of the moun- 
tain, a long narrow ridge, thinly covered with woods, and easy 
of ascent. 

The fleet horses of the Americans afforded him little time for 
preparations. Not expecting them so soon, he had probably 
been stopped in his march by a heavy fall of rain which had 
taken place, or he had possibly paused for rest and refresh- 
ment, as a fine spring of water gushed from the side of a hill, 
near that upon which he had encamped. The road lay be- 
tween these eminences. The Americans divided themselves 
naturally into four bodies, representing almost as many states. 
Each of these divisions was represented by its own colonel, and 
the authority of each was paramount over his own command. 
The colonels were Campbell, Shelby, Cleveland, Sevier, and 
Williams. It is said that Williams had Governor Rutledge's 
commission in his pocket, as a brigadier, at this very time, but 
that he magnanimously suppressed the fact, fearing, perhaps, 
that its assertion might cause jealousies and distrust ; and, by 
common consent, the general command was confided to Colonel 
Campbell, of Virginia. 

The mode of attack was simple, and suggested directly by 
the situation of the British ; no other plan cpuld be pursued. 
The elevation was attainable easily from several sides, and a 
simultaneous attack, from all quarters, was clearly the best 
method of distressing and for defeating the enemy. The several 
divisions, accordingly — the side of ascent being first allotted to 
each — prepared themselves to ascend the ridge, advancing 
under cover of the trees, and delivering their fire as they 
came. In this way, they all proceeded to ascend the hill, at 
nearly the same moment. 



33. Had lie reached King's mountaiu ? 34. What ground did he occupy ? 35. Why 
had he stopped here? 86. How did the Americans divide their forces? 37. Who 
were the colonels? 38. What is said of Colonel Williams? 39. To whom was tho 
chief command given ? 40. Wiiat is said of the mode of attack? 



THE BATTLE OP KING'S MOUNTAIN. 271 

It happened that the party of Cleveland was the first to as- 
cend the ridge, and to encounter the enemy's pickets. History 
has preserved for us the simple but eloquent apostrophe of this 
gallant leader, when urging his men into action : — 

" My brave fellows," he said, " we have beaten the tories al- 
ready, and we can beat them again. They are all cowards ; 
if they were not, they would support the independence of their 
country. When engaged with them^you will want no word of 
command from me. I will show you how to fight by my ex- 
ample. I can do no more. Every man must be his own offi- 
cer, and act from his own judgment. Fire as fast you can, and 
stand your ground as long as you can. When you can do no 
better, run ; but do not run quite off. Get behind trees, and 
retreat. If repulsed, let us return and renew the fight. We 
may have better luck the second time than the first. If any of 
you are afraid, let them retire, and I beg they may take them- 
selves off at once." 

This was a good speech, which his men could understand. 
The effect of it was such as every commander must desire. 
The battle began. The British picket soon gave way, and was 
forced up the ridge to the main body. Here the pursuers were 
met by Ferguson. They recoiled before the charge of the 
British bayonet, to which they could oppose nothing but the 
American rifle. They fled down the hill; but, obeying the 
directions of their commander, they availed themselves of every 
shelter, to stop, reload, and throw in their fire. 

They were soon relieved by the appearance of the party 
under Shelby, who, by this time, had made the circuit of the 
height, and was rushing on with his rifles in like manner. 
Ferguson was compelled to turn and encounter a new foe. 
The fresh party, under Shelby, poured in a well-directed fire, 
but sunk back, like that of Cleveland, under the charge of the 
British. 

The plans of the mountaineers, though simple, were singu- 
larly effective, and the party of Shelby was relieved by the ap- 

41. How was it begun? — and by whom? 42. What speech was made by Cleve- 
land ? — repeat it ? 43. How did Ferguson meet his assailants ? 44. How did the sev- 
eral parties relieve eacli otlier? 4.o. How did Ferguson repel them, severally? 
4(5. Describe the several aU.ern;!tions in the battle ? 



272 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

proaCli of another band, whose unerring fires compelled the 
British commander once more to change his front. While 
busy with these, a fourth came upon tlie ground ; and, as often 
as one of the American divisions was driven down the height, 
another rose in the rear or on the flank of the enemy. 

Ferguson's valor was unavailing. The ridge was encircled 
by foes as bold and deliberate, as they were prompt, active, 
and skilful. His men were falling around him on every side ; 
the success of his bayonets gave him barren ground, which he 
could only for a moment retain. Still he refused to surrender. 
His shrill silver whistle was heard over all the cries of the 
combat ; and he sped from side to side with invincible deter- 
mination. The conflict was ended only by his fall. The sec- 
ond-in-command, De Peyster, sued for quarter. 

The havoc had been ternble on the side of the British. 
Thirteen hundred men w^ere killed, wounded, and prisoners. 
But two hundred escaped. Fifteen hundred stand of arms fell 
into the hands of the Americans. They lost but few men, but 
among these was the brave Colonel Williams, of South Caro- 
lina. The bloody conflict was marked by a crowning sacrifice 
of vengeance ; ten of the prisoners — loyalists — conspicuous 
for their outlawries, and well-known, were tried, condemned, 
and hung, by the victors, almost in the moment of victory ! 
Thirty were condemned, but twenty respited. They are al- 
ledged to have been, all of them, notorious for their crimes, the 
monstrous atrocity of which forbade the plea of pity in the ears 
of tlieir captors. They had long been doomed, by a thousand 
threats of vengeance, from as many outraged enemies ! 

Something, too, is alledged in behalf of this wild and sum- 
mary justice, in the right and policy of retaliation, for the mur- 
ders which Cornwallis had committed on his captives at Cam- 
den, Ninety-six, and Augusta. The deed was supposed to be 
justified by that code which requires eye for eye, tooth for 
tooth, life for life ! 



47. By what instrument did Ferguson give his orders and rally his men ? 48. In 
what event did the battle cease ? 49. Who was slain ? — what the havoc and loss of 
the British ? 50. Who did the Americans lose? 51. What act of vengeance followed 
the victory ? 52. What is alledged in excuse for this act ? 



THE BATTLE OP KING'S MOUNTAIN. 273 

The tradition reports tliat Williams and Ferguson perished 
by each other's hands ; that, after Fergnson had fallen by the 
pistol of Williams, and lay wounded on the ground, the latter 
approached and offered him mercy ; and that his answer w^as a 
fatal bullet from the pistol of the dying man ! 

To this day, the traveller reads on a rude stone, at the foot 
of the scene of battle, and near the spring from which he 
quenches his thirst : — 

" SACRED 

To the Memory of 
MAJOR WILLIAM CHRONICLE, 

CAPTAIN JOHN MATTOCKS, WILLIAM ROBB, AND JOHN BOTD, 

Who were killed at this place on the 7th day of October, 1780, fighting 
in defence of America." 

On the opposite side you read : — 

" COLONEL FERGUSON, 

An Officer of His Britannic Majesty, 

Was defeated and killed. 

At this place, 

On the 7th day of October, 

1780." 

53. What does the tradition report of Williams and Ferguson? 54. What does the 
traveller read near the scene of battle ? — repeat the inscriptions. 

12* 



274 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 



CHAPTER VII. 

TO THE BATTLE OF COWPENS. 

The defeat and death of Ferguson, and the overthrow of a 
force so formidable as that which he led, reinspirited the 
Americans ; it also served to baffle the plans of Lord Corn- 
wallis ; to whom it gave such serious alarm that he retreated 
from Charlotte, to which place he had pursued the fugitive 
army of Gates, and fixed himself at Winnsborough. 

The boldness of the Americans increased daily. The panic 
which followed the defeat of the continentals began to dissipate. 
Small bodies of troops, under favorite leaders, began to show 
themselves even in the neighborhood of Cornwallis's encamp- 
ment ; cutting off his foragers and intercepting his convoys. 
The sharp-shooters of the Carolinas penetrated his very lines, 
and, under the shelter of shrub, tree, and hillock, picked off his 
sentries. Such was their audacity, that, on his march from 
Charlotte to Winnsborough, single riflemen often rode up with- 
in gunshot of his army, singled out their victims, and, having 
discharged their pieces, went off in safety. 

Andrew Jackson, then a boy but fourteen years old, took the 
field on this occasion. 

The approach of Ferguson and Cornwallis had summoned 
all classes to the field. The old sire, better fitted to grasp the 
crutch than the brand, as well as the boy whose sinews had not 
yet hardened into manhood ; and, long after the storm of battle 
had subsided on the plains of Carolina, the boy of the Wexhaws 
still remembered its fury, while grappling with the same enemy 
on the field of New Orleans. Little was it imagined then, that 
the slight, obscure stripling, who was sabred by a British ofR- 

1. What were the events whicli re-inspirited the Americans and baffled Cornwallis? 
2. What did the sharp-sliooters of Carolina? 3. What is said of Andrew Jackson, at 
this period ? 



TO THE BATTLE OF COWPENS. 275 

cer for refusing to clean his boots, should be honored, thirty-five 
years after, with the greatest victory ever obtained over a Brit- 
ish army in America. Could the officer who smote the boy 
have foreseen the event, can it be doubted that the edge of the 
sabre, not its side, would have been employed, and that murder 
would have justified itself under the plea of patriotism ? 

The retreat of Cornwallis followed closely upon Ferguson's 
defeat, and the confession of weakness, betrayed by this retreat, 
gave new encouragement to the Americans. They everywhere 
began to repair in considerable numbers — the sparseness of 
population considered — to the camps of their respective com- 
manders. Of these, there were large numbers, captains and 
colonels, in the field, of whom the historians say little. And 
tliey achieved, day by day, successes on a small scale, of which 
but little has been reported. 

These parties, with their leaders, now began to acknowledge 
and to exercise a better discipline, and to become more efficient 
as soldiers. They had suffered too many disasters from the 
neglect of duty by the militia not to feel the necessity of vigi- 
lance, and a better observance of the duties of the regular ser- 
vice. The legislature of North Carolina put all the militia of 
the state under General Smallwood, of the continental army. 
Generals Sumner and Davidson had, also, large commands of 
militia, and were good officers. Major Davie was also an ac- 
tive and efficient partisan of that state ; so were Shelby, Sevier, 
McDowal, and Locke, of the same state. Georgia contributed 
several able captains, in Colonels Clarke, McCall, Jackson, and 
Twiggs ; and there was not a precinct in South Carolina that 
had not some body of troops in the field, under a favorite 
leader, Hammond, the Hamptons, Harden, Cleveland, as well 
as Marion, Sumter, and Pickens. 

It was one of the mistakes of the British to suppose that the 
spirit of the country, thus excited and active, could be subdued 
by cruelty and terror. Cornwallis issued his orders to hang, 

4. What followed closely on Ferguson's defeat? 5. What is said of the spirit and 
conduct of the Americans, at this period ? 6. Who was appointed commander of the 
militia of the state ? 7. What other officers are named as haA'ing command ? 8. What 
officers did Georgia contribute? 9. What was one of the mistakes of the British? 



276 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

and burn, and oppress, the rebels in every possible way ; and 
his lieutenants, such as Tarleton, Werayss, and others, wei-e 
not unwilling to follow out his decrees to the fullest extent of 
privilege and persecution which they allowed. 

Gates, still in command of the remnant of the defeated army, 
at Hillsborough, detached Brigadier-General Morgan, early in 
October, with three hundred Marylanders and Delawares, and 
some eighty dragoons, to assist the patriots of Mecklenburg and 
Rowan. From this force, Lieutenant-Colonel V/illiam Wasli- 
ington was detached, to the vicinity of Camden. 

On the 4th of December, 1780, Washington showed himself 
before a British post, near Camden, which was held by a mili- 
tia-colonel, one Rugely, whose genius for war was singularly 
undeveloped for one of his rank. The post was a stockade, and 
garrisoned by about one hundred men. Washington w^as with- 
out artillery ; but eager to get possession, and stratagem was 
resorted to, in the absence of the proper materials of war. A 
pine log, ingeniously hewn so as to resemble a field-piece, w^as 
elevated upon a pair of wagon-wheels; and, brought up with 
due formalities, enforced, to the commander of the post, the pro- 
priety of surrendering at the first summons of the American 
colonel. This innocent piece of timber, thus brought to bear 
upon the eyes of the garrison, if not upon the'w works, was in- 
vested by the militiamen with such formidable power, that they 
were exceedingly glad to find a prompt acceptance of their sub- 
mission. But the surrender was fatal to Colonel Rugely, as a 
hero and military man. His hope of becoming a brigadier was 
for ever cut off by his too ready recognition of this new instru- 
ment of warfare. 

It was about this time that General Greene superseded Gen- 
eral Gates in command of the southern army. He brought with 
him no troops and but a single aid. The returns of the troops 
in his command, six days after he joined the army at Charlotte, 

10. What detachments were sent out by General Gates, and for what purpose? 

11. When did Colonel Washington appear before the British post near Camden? 

12. Who was in command of that post, and what is said of him ? 18. What is said of 
the post, and how was it garrisoned ? 14. Wliat stratagem did Colonel Washington 
empl-ay ? 15. With what success? 16. What was the result to tlie British command- 
er? 17. Who succeeded General Gates in command of the army? 18. What was 
the number of trooi)s in the American army, six days after he took command? 



TO THE BATTLE OP COWPENS. 21 i 

gave but nine hundred and seventy continentals and one thou- 
sand one hundred and thirteen militia. The troops were with- 
out pay or clothing, tents or blankets. The British regular 
army in South Carolina, at this time, numbered live thousand 
men, exclusive of loyalists, and were so stationed as to cover 
the most important precincts in the state. They were thus en- 
abled to overawe the populous settlements. The garrison at 
Winnsborougli completed a chain of posts which the enemy 
had established, from Georgetown to Augusta, in a circle, the 
centre of which, equi-distant from Charlestown and Savannah, 
would have been Beaufort, in South Carolina. These posts 
consisted of Georgetown, Camden, Winnsborougli, Ninety-Six, 
and Augusta. Within this circle was another chain of posts,' 
consisting of Fort Watson, on the road to Camden, Motte's 
house, and Granby, on the Congaree. Dorchester, Orange- 
burg, Monk's Corner, and other places, were fortified as posts 
of rest, deposite, and communication. These stations were all 
judiciously chosen, as well for procuring subsistence as for cov- 
ering the country. 

The American army had been under march for Salisbury 
before the arrival of Greene. A command, under Colonel 
Morgan, had, as we have seen, penetrated South Carolina, 
pressing forward toward Camden, and occupying the very 
ground which had witnessed the defeat of Gates. 

The exploit of Marion, in rescuing the American prisoners 
and capturing the British guards, made him particularly obnox- 
ious to the British commander, Tarleton's success against 
Sumter, and the promptness and activity of his movements, 
pointed him out to Cornwallis as the proper officer to ferret out 
and destroy this wary partisan. Tarleton began the enterprise 
with a degree of wariness and art which was new to his prac- 
tice. He fancied, at one time, that he had " the Swamp Fox " 
fairly in his meshes ; but the British officer manoeuvred in 
vain. Marion baffled and eluded him at all points, and his ad- 

19. AVhat is said of their condition? 20. What was the number in the British army, 
and how were they stationed ? 21. Name the different posts. 22. What American 
officer had penetrated South Carolina, and was pressing forward toward Camden ? 

23. For what had Marion rendered himself obnoxious to the British commander ? 

24. Who was despatched by Cornwallis to destroy Marion ? 25. With what success ? 



278 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

versary was compelled to leave him tlie undisputed master of 
the whole ground, wliile lie turned his arms once more against 
Sumter, whose incursions had again become troublesome. 

This daring captain, having recruited his command to an im- 
posing force, advanced within twenty-eight miles of the British 
camp, at "Winnsborough. 

This audacity suggested to Cornwallis a plan of surprizing 
him in his encampment. Such importance was attached to se- 
curing his individual person, that an officer, with five dragoons, 
had it specially in charge to force their way to his tent, and 
take him, dead or alive. " The Game Cock," as Sumter was 
called by the Carolinians, was, in the language of Cornwallis, 
the greatest trouble which the British had encountered in the 
country. 

The conduct of this enterprise was entrusted to a Major 
Wemyss, who approached the encampment of the American 
general with equal promptitude and caution. 

Fortunately, Sumter had given more than usual strength to 
his advanced guard. His army had lain so long in their posi- 
tion, that he naturally expected attack. Colonel Taylor, by 
whom the advance-guard was commanded, had taken particular 
precautions. Fires had been lighted in front of his line, and 
his men were ordered, in case of alarm, to form so far in the 
rear of the fires, as to be concealed, while the approaching ene- 
my would be conspicuous in their light. 

The videttes and pickets did their duty, and the guard was 
ready to receive the attack. A murderous fire prostrated 
twenty-three of the British, as they reached the fires. The 
rest recoiled, then retreated for a hundred yards before they 
rallied. They were brought again steadily to the attack, and a 
close conflict followed ; but the well-directed fire of the Ameri- 
cans completed what their advance guard had so well begun. 
The British were driven from the field, and found safety only 
in the darkness of the night. Wemyss fell into the hands of 



26. Against whom did Tarleton next turn his ainii? 27. What were Sumter's move- 
ments? 28. How did Cornwallis expect to secure the " Game Cock?" 29. To wlial 
oflRcer was this enterprise entrusted ? 30. What precautions Had Sumter taken ? 
81. De8cri!)e the battle, and i-'ive the rosiilt. 



TO THE BATTLE OF COWPENS. 279 

the Americans, being wounded through both thighs, and de- 
serted by his men in the precipitation of their flight. 

Sumter, after this affair, left his position, and was pursued 
by Tarleton with the headlong haste which marked all the 
movements of that warrior. He came up with the American 
general at Blackstock's, on the 20th of November. 

At this period, by the way, there were three distinct com- 
mands of the South Carolina militia ; Marion, in the low coun- 
try ; Sumter, in the middle ; Williams, in the upper ; and, after 
his death, Pickens, assisted or seconded, by Colonels Clarke 
and Twiggs, of Georgia. 

Blackstock's house, on the southwest bank of Tiger river, af- 
forded a favorable position for the employment of a small force 
in battle. Sumter stationed his troops so as to avail himself 
of all its advantages. On this occasion, Sumter had with him, 
Clarke, Twiggs, and Chandler, of Georgia, and Colonels Thom- 
as, Bratton, and Majors M'Call and Samuel Hammond, of 
South Carolina, who had joined forces with his some ten days 
before. Not doubting that the whole force of the British was 
upon him, he resolved to maintain his ground during the day, 
and, under cover of the night, escape across the river. 

Tarleton's command consisted of his legion, a battalion of the 
seventy-first regiment, a detachment of the sixty-third, and a 
lieutenant's command of the royal artillery, with one field-piece. 
But, of this force, only four hundred mounted men had yet come 
up with the Americans. 

As soon as Sumter made this discovery, his plans were 
changed ; and he resolved to commence the attack and cut up 
his enemy in detail. Tarleton, supposing that he had the game 
in his own hands, had, immediately on arriving, secured an ele- 
vated piece of ground, in front of Sumter's position, and dis- 
mounting his men to relieve themselves and horses, prepared 
to await the arrival of his artillery and infantry. 

82. What did Sumter and Tarleton ? 33. When, and where, did Tarleton coinfe up 
with Sumter? 34. Into how many commands were the South Carolina militia divided, 
at this time and who were the commanders? 35. How was Blackstock's house situ- 
ated? — and what did it afford? 86. What officers had Sumter with him, at this 
time? 37. What di3 he resolve? 38. What was Tarleton's force? 89. "What change 
now took place in Suniter''s plans? 40. What did Tarleton ? 



280 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

But the assault of Sumter compelled him to take to his arms. 
The Americans descended from their heights, and poured in a 
well-directed fire upon the enemy. They were met by the 
bayonet, and, being armed only with rifles, were compelled to 
retire. The British advanced, but were met by a reserve of 
rifles, which prostrated many and repulsed the rest. Tarleton, 
as he beheld his danger, commanded a second and desperate 
charge, directly up the hill ; but the Americans stood firm, and 
received him with their rifles, under the united fire of which 
his men could not be made to stand. Drawing oiF his whole 
force, he wheeled upon Sumter's left, where the ground was 
less precipitous ; he was here met by a little corps of Geor- 
gians, about one hundred and fifty in number, who displayed 
the courage of veterans. Clarke and Hammond, especially, 
distinguished themselves in this action. But the pressure of 
Tarleton's whole force was too much for them to contend 
against. They yielded, after a noble resistance, and gave w^ay; 
but the timely interposition of the reserve, under Colonel Winn, 
and the fire from a company stationed at the house, determined 
the issue. Tarleton fled, leaving near two hundred men upon 
the field of battle. The loss of the Americans was trifling, but 
their brave commander received a severe wound in the breast, 
which kept him a length of time from service. Twiggs suc- 
ceeded to the command when Sumter was wounded. 

The army of the South, when General Greene entered upon 
its command, was, in the language of his predecessor, "rather a 
shadow than a substance." It consisted nominally of less than 
two thousand men. One thousand of these were militia, and 
line hundred continentals. The first measures of Greene were 
to provide them with arms and clothing, and make such arrange- 
ments as would supply their future wants. These were not 
of easy performance in a country where there was no real 
money, and nothing in circulation but a miserable paper cur- 
rency, even then hopelessly irredeemable, and not less a jest 
with the Americans than a mockery with the British. 

41 Describe the battle. 42. What was the result? 43. What was the American 
loss? 44. Who succeeded Sumter? 45. Of what did the army consist, when General 
Greene took command ? 46. What were Greene's first measures ? 



TO THE BATTLE OP COWPENS. 'J 81 

But, whatever may have been the deficiencies and disadvan- 
tages of the service, the American general entered upon it with 
a manly determination to undertake its hardships with patriotic 
zeal, and to despond in nothing. He advanced toward the head 
of boat-navigation on the Pedee. The country in that neigh- 
borhood was fertile, and had not yet been traversed by an army 
of any magnitude. Here he sat down for a while, in order to 
recruit and exercise his little force ; and here he matured his 
plans, perfected his intimacy with his officers, and drilled his 
raw militiamen. From this point he despatched his engineers 
to explore the country. The routes in all directions were care- 
fully set down, and, with Governor Rutledge, of South Caro- 
lina, in his camp, he was not suffered to remain in ignorance of 
any matters which he deemed essential to his contemplated 
invasion of the state. 

While Gates and Greene had been busy in the accumulation 
of an army, it must not be supposed that the little bands under 
Marion, and other partisan commanders, had been inactive. 
Marion, whose mode of warfare had acquired for him the nom 
de guerre of " the Swamp Fox," was never inactive. Hundreds 
of little successes, that do not properly belong to the main 
stream of regular history, yet concurred to render his career 
memorable, and to influence equally the hopes of his country- 
men and the hostility of the enemy. His command was a pe- 
culiar one, being chiefly formed from the little and insulated 
section of country in which he lived. His warriors were his 
neighbors and friends, and the tie that bound them together 
brought into equal activity the duty of the soldier and the affec- 
tions of the comrade. " Marion's brigade," was the extra mili- 
tary epithet which distinguished his command. It might con- 
tain ten men, or five hundred — it was still "Marion's brigade" 
— a membership in which had a sort of masonic value in the 
estimation of his followers, which amply compensated for all its 
privations and fatigues. Constantly active, it would be impos- 
sible for the pen of the historian to follow tlie progress of the 
little corps. Some of his exploits have been recorded. We 

47. What was the condition of the country at that time V 48. What is said of Gen- 
eral Greene ? 49. What is said of tlie " Swamp Fox V" 



282 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

can only glance at one or two more, in order to bring up our 
narration to the period of Greene's assumption of command 
over the southern army. 

One of the first of his exploits was the surprise of a Major 
Gainey, at the head of a large body of tories, which he had 
collected between Great and Little Pedee. A second party of 
tories was defeated at Shepherd's ferry, near Black Mingo 
swamp. The tories were well posted to receive the attack, and 
a desperate conflict ensued. The parties were so near each 
other, during the greater part of the conflict, that the wadding 
of their guns continually struck on each side. Neither party 
had bayonets, and buckshot was quite as frequently used as 
ball. 

This victory increased the " brigade " to nearly four hundred 
men, with which Marion marched upon Colonel Tynes, who had 
raised a large force of tories upon Black river. Tynes was 
surprised, several of his men slain, and his force dispersed, 
while Marion lost not a man. In all these marches and con- 
flicts, the partisans lived entirely in the swamps, with no shelter 
but the forest, almost without blankets or clothing, commonly 
with no food but potatoes, and meat without salt. Marion him- 
self for a long time, had neither hat nor blanket. 

The arrival of Greene abridged the independence of Marion's 
movements. His brigade constituted a portion of the men of 
the state, and was necessarily comprised within the command of 
that general. The activity, courage, and successful conduct of 
Marion, indicated him to Greene as one well calculated, by his 
knowledge of the country, for active employment ; and Colonel 
Lee being joined to his " brigade," a combined attempt was 
made to surprise the British post at Georgetown. The town 
was entered, many were killed and taken ; but the garrison re- 
mained firm, and the attempt was unsuccessful. The failure is 
ascribed to several causes ; but the alarm of the guides, who 

50. Whom did General Marion attack and defeat under Major Gainey? 51. What 
can you say of the conflict at Shepherd's ferry ? 52. Of wliat number did Marion's 
" brigade " now consist? 53. Upon whom did Marion now march ? 54. With wliat 
result ? 55. How did the partisans submit ? 56. What effect did the arrival of Greene 
have on Marion's movements? 57. What British post did they attempt to surprise? 
58. With what success? 



TO THE BATTLE OF COWPENS. 283 

missed their way, and thus defeated the plan of co-operation 
between the several parties, is a sufficient reason. With this 
affiiir, which took place on the 25th of January, General Greene 
opened the campaign of 1781. 

This failure was more than compensated by a brilliant event 
which happened a few days before, in the western extremit}' of 
the state, to which General Greene had detached Colonel Mor- 
gan with a strong force, with a view to his keeping down and 
restraining the brutal passions of the loyalists in that quarter. 
Morgan, shortly after his arrival, sent Lieutenant - Colonel 
Washington, with a regiment and two hundred horse, to attack 
a body of tories who had been plundering the whig inhabit- 
ants, Washington came up with them near Hammond's store, 
charged them vigorously and defeated them. General Cun- 
ningham, with a detachment of British militia of one hundred 
and fifty, was dispersed by a party under Cornet Simons, of 
Washington's command. These, and other successes, seriously 
excited the apprehensions of Cornwallis for the safety of the 
post at Ninety-Six ; and he ordered Tarleton to throw himself 
at once across the path of Morgan. 

With a force of twelve hundred men — five hundred of 
whom were the formidable legion which had been carrying ter- 
ror and conquest through every quarter of the state for so long 
a time — Tarleton prepared to obey with his accustomed celer- 
ity. That there should be no chance for the escape of his prey, 
who lay on the west side of Broad river, it wag concerted that 
Cornwallis should advance northwardly as far as King's Moun- 
tain, that Morgan's retreat might be cut off, and he compelled 
to fight. That Morgan should himself desire to encounter 
either of them, the British commanders do not seem to have 
suspected for a moment. 

Instead of flying from Tarleton, however, Morgan advanced 
to the Pacolet to meet him. The Pacolet is a small river, ford- 
able in many places. On the evening of the 15th, Tarleton 
put his troops in motion toward the head of the stream, as if 

59. What event opened the campaign of 1781 ? GO. What events more than com- 
pensated for the faUnre at Georgetown? Gl. What did Cornwallis? 62. What force 
had Tarleton ? 68. What was Oornwallis's plan ? 



284 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

with an intention to cro.-s it above tLe position which Morgan 
had taken, and thus place his adversary between his own and 
tlie main army under Cornwallis, which was only a day's march 
distant on the left. His stratagem took effect. Morgan made 
a corresponding movement ; while Tarleton, silently decamping 
in the night, passed the river before daylight, at a crossing- 
place a few miles below. 

Morgan then retreated precipitately, and before night re- 
gained a favorite position on Thicketty creek, where he deter- 
mined to await the approach of the enemy. Tarleton supposing 
that his adversary was resolved on flight, hurriedly resumed 
the pursuit on the following morning. About eight o'clock, 
A. M., he came in sight of the Americans, and, instead of over- 
taking his adversary in the fatigue and confusion of a flight, he 
found him drawn up and ready under arms. Morgan's army 
had rested, breakfasted, and were refreshed. The British, on the 
other hand, had been five hours that morning on the march ; 
but this difference was deemed unimportant to one who had 
hitherto known nothing but success. Tarleton, satisfied by the 
spirit and alacrity of his troops, prepared at once for battle. 

Morgan had taken ground on an eminence which ascended 
gently for about three hundred and fifty yards, and was covered 
with an open wood. On the crown of this eminence were 
posted two hundred and ninety Maryland regulars, and in line, 
on their right, two companies of Virginia militia and a com- 
pany of Georgians, making his rear line consist of four hundred 
and thirty men. This was commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel 
Howard. One hundred and fifty yards in advance of the line, 
the main body of the militia, about three hundred in number, 
all practised riflemen, and most of them burning with a keen 
sense of personal injury, were posted under the command of 
Colonel Pickens. In advance of the first line, about one hun- 
dred and fifty yards, were placed as many picked riflemen, scat- 
tered in loose order along the whole front. Those on the right 
were commanded by Colonel Cunningham, of Georgia, with a 
mixed command of Georgians and South Carolinians ; those 
on the left by Major M'Dowal, of South Carolina. No partic- 

&L Describe the movements of Morgan and Tarleton. 



TO THE BATTLE OF COWPENS. 285 

ular order was given to this desultory body ; but they knew the 
service. " Mark the epaulette men," were the words of coun- 
sel which they whispered to one another. 

In the rear of the second line, the ground descended, and then 
again arose to a height sufficient to cover a man on horseback. 
Behind this, the American reserve was posted, consisting of 
Washington's and M'Call's cavalry, one hundred and twenty- 
five in number. The advanced party were ordered not to de- 
liver their fire until the British were within fifty yards, and, 
this done, to retire, covering themselves with trees and loading 
and firing as occasion offered. 

When Tarleton beheld his enemy ready to receive him, he 
advanced to reconnoitre ; but was prevented from doing so by 
the picked riflemen who were scattered along the entire front 
of the line. On this occasion they gave the cavalry a few dis- 
charges, which made them trembhj at the deadly aim of the 
southern rifle. The British Avere formed when within three 
hundred yards from the front of Morgan's force, and soon after 
advanced with a shout, under the cover of their artillery, pouring 
in an incessant fire of musketry as they came. At the assigned 
distance, the militia delivered their fire with unerring aim ; and 
" here," says Colonel Howard, " the battle was gained." 

The assertion was justified by the spectacle of dead and 
wounded, commissioned and noncommissioned, who sank down 
under the deliberate and fatal discharge which first folloAved the 
advance of the foe. But this was not enough to repel the enemy 
under the excitement of battle and the goading of their com- 
manders. The retreat of the militia quickened the advance of 
the British, who rent the air with shouts, as they fondly believed 
that the day was already won. 

But the second line renewed the punishment which had fol- 
lowed from the fire of the first, and at this moment the fearful 
havoc which the riflemen had made among the officers rendered 
itself apparent in the confusion of the troops. Still they ad- 
vanced ; yet obviously with such hesitation, that Tarleton or- 
dered the seventy-first regiment into line upon his left. His 
cavalry at the same time descended upon the Americans' right. 

65. Describe the disposition of the American army for battle. 



286 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

Morgan perceived this movement, and the necessity of cov- 
ering his flank. In this crisis of the battle, Washington encoun- 
tered the cavalry of Tarleton in a successful charge. The militia 
recovered, and, forming a new reserve, were ready to obey the 
command of Morgan to " give them but one more fire and make 
the victory secure." The bayonets of Howard's continentals 
were interlocked with those of the foe, and the day was won. 

The concerted action of Morgan's whole force at this most im- 
portant moment was the certain guaranty of victory. The enemy 
was within thirty yards, tumultuously shouting and advancing, 
when the final fire of the Americans was delivered. The sur- 
vivors of the terrible discharge threw down their weapons and 
fell upon their faces. 

Eight hundred stand of arms, two field-pieces, and thirty-five 
basgage-waorons, fell into the hands of the victors. The re- 
mains of the British cavalry were pursued for several miles by 
Washington ; but the greater part of them escaped. Thus 
ended the great and well-fought battle of the Cowpens. 

66. Describe the batllo ot Cowpens? 



TO THE FLIGHT OF CORNWALLIS. 287 



CHAPTER VIIL 

FROM THE BATTLE OF COWPENS TO THE FLIGHT OF 
CORNWALLIS. 

Never was victory more complete than this. Not a corps 
of the British retired from the field under command, except the 
remains of the cavalry who accompanied Tarleton himself. 
These were pursued by Lieutenant-Colonel Washington with 
his accustomed rapidity of movement — a rapidity which some- 
times involved him in perils, when greater prudence, though 
less brilliant in its display, might have been better soldiership. 
Excited by the prospect of ^capturing the formidable cavalry- 
officer whose successes had hitherto been so uniform, and so 
productive of disaster to the Carolinas, Washington pressed 
forward with so much haste as to separate himself from the 
main body of his command. 

Tarleton beheld this, and turned upon his pursuer. He was 
supported by two of his officers, one of whom crossed swords 
with the pursuing American. The blade of the latter, being 
of inferior temper, broke in the encounter, and left him at the 
mercy of the foe. At this moment, when a second blow would 
have brought him to the ground, a little henchman, not fourteen 
years old, who was devoted to his master, and carried no other 
weapon than a pistol at his saddle-bow, seasonably rode up and 
discharged its contents into the shoulder of the Briton. The 
arm of the assailant fell powerless at his side ; but the other 
officer occupied his place. His sword was already lifted above 
the head of Washington, when the blow was broken by the in- 
terposition of the sword of Sergeant-Major Perry. A bullet 

1. By what officer was Tarleton pursued in his retreat from the battle of the Cow- 
pens? 9. Was Colonel Washington exposed to any particular danger during the 
encouiiter which took place ? 



288 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

from tlie pistol of Colonel Tarleton, aimed at Washington, 
brought the noble steed that bore him to the ground. 

The fortunate approach of the Americans arrested the far- 
ther attempts of the Briton upon their leader. The moment 
was lost, and his flight was resumed. The British dragoons of 
Tarleton had really never fought well. They had repeatedly 
hacked to pieces a fugitive or supplicating militia ; but neither 
at Blackstock's, where they encountered Sumter, nor at Cow- 
pens, where they met with Washington, did they maintain the 
high renown which they had hitherto acquired rather from good 
fortune than desert. The star of Tarleton waned from this 
moment. His operations grew limited in extent, and small in 
importance. His defeat on this occasion, with that of Fergu- 
son at King's Mountain, were the first links in a grand clmin 
of causes, which drew down ruin on the British interest in 
South Carolina. 

Success did not lull Morgan into security. Not more than 
twenty-five miles from Lord Cornwallis, he naturally conjec- 
tured that his lordship would be in motion to cut off his retreat 
as soon as the intelligence should reach him of the defeat of 
Tarleton. He halted no longer on the field of battle than to 
refresh his men and secure his prisoners, who were five hundred 
in number, exclusive of the wounded ; and moved across Broad 
river the same evening. 

His movements were necessarily slow, encumbered, as he m as, 
with the wounded, the prisoners, and the captured baggage ; 
and he might have been easily overtaken and brought to a halt 
by a vigorous pursuit of the enemy; but the good fortune 
which had attended him through the conflict still clung to his 
standard. 

CornwaUis, with a remissness which has been censured by 
Tarleton, hesitated to decide. In war, the delay of moments is 
the defeat of hosts. He stopped to destroy his baggage, and 
make some preparations which could have been reserved for 
another time, and which consumed two days, and thus lost a 

8. What is said of tlie defeat of Tarleton at the Oowpens, and of Ferguson at 
King's Mountain? 4. What number of prisoners were talven by the Americans at 
the Cowpens? 



TO THE FLIGHT OF CORNWALLIS. 289 

prize, which, had he pursued promptly, he could scarcely hav^e 
failed to secure. 

He reached the great Catawba river just after the American 
general had passed in safety ; but he no longer possessed the 
power to follow him. The swollen waters of the stream which 
barely suffered the passage of Morgan, rose up, foaming and 
threatening, in the face of Cornwallis. The Americans exulted 
in the conviction that a miracle had been performed in their 
behalf, like that which saved the Hebrews from the pursuit of 
the Egyptian tyrant. The British commander was not, indeed, 
swallowed up by the waters ; but they stayed his march — they 
baffled his pursuit — and Morgan joined his commander, bring- 
ing off in safety the prisoners and baggage — the whole rich 
spoils of his valor and good conduct. 

As soon as the Catawba was fordable, Cornwallis prepared 
to cross it, which he did successfully, though resisted by a part 
of Greene's army, under the command of General Davidson. 
It was a wise resolution on the part of the British general to 
attempt the passage in the night. A stream five hundred yards 
wide, foaming among the rocks, and frequently overturning men 
and horses in its progress, might, in daylight, have discouraged 
the hearts of his men. Nor would they then have been so safe 
from the unerring riflemen, who were posted among the trees 
and bushes which thickly covered the margin of the stream. 

A sharp conflict, nevertheless, followed the attempt, in which 
many of the enemy, including Colonel Hale of the guards, 
were slain. Cornwallis himself had a horse shot under him, 
which barely survived to reach the shore, when he fell and 
expired. 

General Davidson, in an attempt to change his position during 
the action, in order to occupy the front of the enemy, came be- 
tween the light of his own fires and the advancing column of 
the British. A well-directed volley from them prostrated him 
with a number of his men. The militia became dispirited after 
this disaster, agd precipitately retreated. 

5. By whom was Morgan followed in his march to join General G-reene, and how 
was the pursuit arrested ? 6. Why did this circumstance prove particularly inspiriting 
to the Americans ? 7. What did it enable Morgan to do? 9. As soon as the Catawba 
was fordable, whither did Corinvallis pursue General Greene? 

13 



290 HISTORY OP* SOUTH CAROLINA. 

A military race then began between the respective opponents, 
in which Cornwallis pursued Greene into Virginia. The Brit- 
ish commander, content with this seeming success, and desiring 
to recruit his force for a more effectual prosecution of his march 
into Virginia, fell back upon Hillsboro, North Carolina, where 
he raised the royal standard and summoned the loyalists to rally 
beneath it. 

To defeat this object, Greene recrossed the river Dan, and 
once more drew the attention of the British upon himself. A 
detachment of his force, under command of Pickens and Lee, 
fell in with a force of the loyalists, led by a Colonel Pyles, and 
cut them to pieces. Another body of tories, about the same 
time, were destroyed by the rash and sanguinary Tarleton, by 
whom they were mistaken for " rebels." 

These disasters did not come singly, and their accumulation, 
with other circumstances, began to open the eyes of Cornwallis 
to his own danger. " He was surrounded," in his own language 
to the British ministry, " by inveterate enemies and timid 
friends ;" and to fight and conquer Greene, became now as 
much a matter of necessity as it had before been one of choice. 
The Americans were gathering strength by daily accessions. 
The tories were growing cold in a contest which, however suc- 
cessful at first, had been pregnant with defeats and dangers ; 
and the severe lessons which the British had received at King's 
Mountain and at Cowpens, had taught them to indulge in 
gloomy anticipations, which needed but the maturing influence 
of time for fullest confirmation. 

Numberless minor events, small combats, and skilful manoeu- 
vrings, while they emboldened the Americans and their general, 
prepared the way for the more important issue which was to 
follow. 

The two main armies, after various marchings and counter- 
marchings, prepared to stake the issue finally on the sword. 
The scene of action Avas at Guilford Courthouse. The battle 



9. Upon what place did the British general then fall back ? 10. To prevent the 
tories from joining the British army, what movement Mas made by General Greene ? 
11. What service was now achieved by Colonels Pickens and Lee ? 12. By whom 
was another body of tories about the same time destroyed ? 



TO THE FLIGHT OP CORNWALLIS. 291 

was fought on the 15th of March, 1781. It was waged with 
great obstinacy and valor, and the victory remained long in sus- 
pense. Discipline, at length, achieved its natural triumph over 
the irregular force of the Americans. 

Half of Greene's force were untried militia; but five hun- 
dred of his men had ever seen service. The veteran volun- 
teers, under Pickens, had been despatched some time before to 
South Carolina, where they were imperatively demanded to 
meet the black brigades which the British were seeking to em- 
body in that quarter; and the regular troops that remained, 
consisting of the infantry of the legion, a little corps of Dela- 
wares, and the first regiment of Maryland, formed the only por- 
tion of the American army that could be compared with the 
British. These did not exceed two hundred and eighty-one in 
number ; yet, unassisted, they drove from the field, in the first 
instance, the thirty-third regiment, three hundred and twenty- 
two strong, supported by the yagers and light-infantry of the 
guards. 

The Virginians behaved with no less valor, though with less 
experience. They maintained a long and arduous conflict with 
the whole British line, and only sunk at the push of the bayonet, 
for which they were neither prepared by practice nor the pos-* 
session of the proper weapons. 

The victory remained with the enemy ; but the advantage 
wath the Americans. The former lost six hundred and thirty- 
three men, killed, wounded, and missing ; of these, one colonel 
and four commissioned officers died on the field ; Colonel Web- 
ster, and several others, received mortal wounds ; General 
O'Hara's recovery from his wounds was long doubtful ; Colonel 
Tarleton, and General Howard, a volunteer, with twenty other 
commissioned .officers, were wounded. 

The victory must have been with the Americans, but for the 
uumilitary flight, in the beginning of the action, of the North 

13. When was the battle of Guilford Courthouse fought ? 14 Who gained the vic- 
tory ? 15. Of what was Greene's force composed ? 16. Whither had the A^eteran vol- 
unteers been despatched? — and for what object? 17. What was the number of 
regular troops under Greene? 18. What did they accomplish? 19. What did the 
Virginians ? 20. With whom did the advantage remain ? 21. What loss was sus- 
tained bv the British ? 



292 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

Carolina militia, and the second regiment of Marylanders. The 
loss of the Americans was about four hundred. Greene retired 
over Reedy fork, about three miles from the scene of action ; 
while Cornwallis remained in possession of the ground, but too 
much crippled to pursue his enemy. 

Three days after his victory, his lordship destroyed all his 
baggage, left his hospital and wounded, and fled toward the sea- 
coast, leaving the whole of the country behind him in the pos- 
session of the Americans. Greene pursued, but without over- 
taking the British ; while Cornwallis, after a brief delay at 
Wilmington, hurried on to that junction with the British forces 
in Virginia, under Major-General Philips, and the traitor Ar- 
nold, which resulted in the siege and surrender of Yorktown, 
one of the most brilliant events in the progress of the war, and 
which greatly assisted to decide it. But these events must not 
be anticipated. 

While these events were in progress in North Carolina, the 
whigs in South Carolina were everywhere gathering in arms. 
The absence of Cornwallis had withdrawn from the state that 
superior body by which he had held it in subjection. Pickens, 
with his brigade, was operating between Ninety-Six and Au- 
gusta ; and Lee, with his legion, and a part of the second Mary- 
land regiment, was advancing to co-operate with Marion. 

General Sumter, though not yet fully recovered of his wounds 
received at Blackstock's, had drawn his men to a head, and had 
penetrated to the Congaree, which he crossed early in February, 
and appeared before Fort Granby. Such was the vigor wath 
which he pressed the fort, that his marksmen, mounted upon a 
temporary structure of rails, had reduced the garrison to the 
last straits, when they were relieved by the unexpected approach 
of succor, under Lord R-awdon, who appeared on the opposite 
bank of the river. 

Unable to contend with the superior force of the British, Sum- 
ter made a sudden retreat ; and, two days after, captured an 
escort of the British regulars, going from Charlestown to Cam- 

22. What was the loss of the Americans ? 23. What movement did Lord Cornwallis 
make after this victory ? 24. After a brief delay at Wilmington, whither did he 
hurry? 25. What continental oftlcers were now in arms in Soutli Carolina? 



TO THE FLIGHT OF CORNWALLIS. 293 

den with stores, in wagons, which yielded a booty equally ne- 
cessary to both parties. Thirteen of the British were slain, 
and sixty-six made prisoners ; the wagons, containing a profu- 
sion of provisions, clothing, arms, and ammunition, fell into his 
hands. 

Proceeding with his accustomed rapidity, Sumter swam the 
Santee river, with three hundred men, and appeared next be- 
fore Fort Watson. 

From this point he was again driven by Eawdon, who 
marched to its relief. He then retired to the swamps on Black 
river, where he remained to recruit, though not inactive, for 
awhile. 

Emerging from this retreat, he was attacked, near Camden, 
by Major Fraser, at the head of a considerable force of regu- 
lars and militia ; but the major was defeated after a severe 
handling, in which twenty of his men were slain. Sumter, after 
this event, retired to the borders of North Carolina, where he 
contrived to increase his force to three small regiments of state 
troops. His return, with that of the continental army, renewed 
the war in South Carolina with more regularity and vigor. 

Marion had been as busy in his fastnesses as his great con- 
temporary Sumter ; and while Greene and the continentals gave 
full employment to the regular British army, his little brigade 
had met the tories in a spirit not unlike their own. Their 
salvage murders, wanton excesses, and bitter cruelties — their 
house-breaking and house-burning — their blasphemies, impie- 
ties, and horrors — had put them completely out of the pale of 
military civilization, " No quarter to the tories !" became the 
cry of the brigade, when going into battle ; and with this spirit, 
and guided by the skill and intelligence of their leader, the ca- 
reer of the partisans was as sleepless and rapid as its temper 
was now unsparing and vindictive. To conquer, merely, was 
not to complete the purpose for which they fought — to destroy, 
was their object, also ; and so resolute had they shown them- 

26. What service was achieved by General Sumter? 27. Driven from Fort Wat- 
eon by Lord Eawdon, whither did Sumter retreat? 28. Emerging from this retreat, 
where was he attaclced by Major Fraser? 29. Having defeated this officer, whither 
did Sumter retire ? 80. How had Marion, meanwhile, been engaged ? 



294 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

selves, and iso active and vigilant, that to root them out was as 
difficult as it had become desirable. 

A new and well concerted attempt to annihilate this body, 
was arranged between Colonels Watson and Doyle. The for- 
mer was to move down from Camden along the San tee — the 
latter was to cross Lynch's creek, and follow its course on the 
eastern bank. They were to unite their forces near Snow's is- 
land, which was the favorite hiding-place of the " brigade." 

Marion heard first of the approach of Watson, and went out 
with his whole force to meet him. At Taucaw swamp, nearly 
opposite to the mouth of the present Santee canal, he laid an 
ambush for him, which he placed under command of Colonel 
Horry. At this time, he had but a few rounds of ammunition 
for each man. His orders to Horry were, to give two fires and 
retreat. 

A second ambush was placed in a contiguous situation, which 
promised certain advantages. This was a party of cavalry, 
under the command of Captain Conyers. Horry's ambuscade 
gave its fires with great effect, but was compelled to retire. 
Watson, having made good his passage of the swamp, sent a 
detachment of cavalry, under Major Harrison, in pursuit of 
Horry. 

This detachment was encountered by Conyers, who slew Har- 
rison with his own hand. His party Vv'as dispersed, after suflfer- 
ing severe loss from the charge of Conyers. 

Marion, too feeble to assail his opponent openly, continued 
in this way to embarrass his progress and weaken his force, 
until they had reached nearly to the lower bridge on Black 
river, seven miles below King's tree. Here Watson made a 
feint of taking the road to Georgetown. Too weak to detach a 
party to the bridge, Marion took an advantageous position on 
that road. 

Suddenly wheeling, Watson changed his course and gained 
possession of the bridge on the western side. This gave him 
the opening to a very important pass, leading into the heart of 

31. Where was the favorite hiding-place of his "brigade?" 82. Where did he en- 
counter Colonel Watson ? 8?.. In what manner did he harass that officer during his 
inarch to Georgetown? 



TO THE FLIGHT OF CORNWALLIS. 295 

Williamsburgh and to Snow's island. The river, on the west, 
runs under a high bluff; the grounds, on the east side, are low, 
and the stream, though generally fordable, was, at that time, 
swollen by freshets, so as nearly to reach the summit of the 
opposite shore. This prospect seemed to appal the British col- 
onel. AVhile he hesitated, the less wary partisan led the way 
for his troop, plunged in, and safely reaching the opposite banks, 
marched forward to occupy the eastern end of the bridge. Mar- 
ion detached Major James, with forty musketeers, and thirty 
riflemen, under M'Cottry, to burn the bridge. 

The riflemen were posted to advantage, and under cover, on 
the river bank. The attempt of the musketeers to burn the 
bridge, drew upon them the fire of Watson's artillery. Against 
this Marion had provided, and the artillerists of the enemy 
were picked off by M'Cottry 's rifles as fast as they approached 
to apply their matches to the gun. The bridge was fired and 
consumed in the face of the enemy, who, baffled and hirassed, 
turned from the pursuit of the wary partisan, and proceeded by 
forced marches to Georgetown. 

But he was not suffered to leave behind him the foe whom 
his pursuit had seemed only to awaken. Marion hung upon 
his progress — now upon his flanks, now in front, and now in 
the rear — while his rifles exacted heavy toll from the enemy 
at every mile in their journey. Watson, at last, reached 
Georgetown in safety ; but the implacable riflemen had fol- 
lowed his flying footsteps till the last moment. Never Iiad 
man been more harassed ; and the complaint of Watson, that 
Marion would not fight like a Christian and a gentleman, has 
passed, from its ludicrous solemnity, into a proverbial phrase 
of merriment in the South. Doyle, the coadjutor of Watson, 
was encountered in like manner, and with similar results. A 
single conflict drove him back to Camden, with a considerable 
loss in men, and a greater loss in baggage. 

This affair was followed, on the part of the brigade, by a sharp 
conflict WMth a body of tories. These were routed, and their 

34. What complaint did Watson make? 85. With what success did Colonel Doyle 
encounter Marion's brigade? 86. By what was this affair followed on the part of the 
brigade V 



296 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

captain slain. A nephew of Marion also fell in the conflict. 
A second descent which Marion made upon Georgetown, about 
this time, was more successful than the first. It fell into his 
hands, but was afterward set on fire bj an armed party from a 
British vessel, and upward of forty houses were reduced to 
ashes. 

After the return of General Greene into South Carolina, 
which followed the flight of Cornwallis into Virginia, Marion 
ceased to act independently. The exploits of his brigade, no 
longer acting by itself, became merged in those of the liberating 
army. 

37. What relation of the commander was killed in the conflict? 38. After Marion 
had succeeded in taking Georgetown from the enemy, what misfortune befel the 
town ? 89. "When did Marion cease to act independently ? 



BATTLE OF HOBKIRK'S HILL. 297 



CHAPTER IX. 

BATTLE OF HOBKIRK'S HILL. 

At no period had opposition entirely ceased to the British 
arms in South Carolina. It has been by a singular mistake that 
this judgment has been given. She was struck down for a few 
weeks, but never subdued. In the worst hour of her misfor- 
tunes, there were still some noble bands of her sons, few in 
number, but fearless in spirit, that maintained her banner among 
the swamps and forests ; always watchful of the occasion when 
to sally forth and wreak fearful vengeance on the invaders, in 
the moment of their greatest seeming security. 

To the names of Sumter, Marion, and Pickens, may be added 
those of Harden, Hammond, Hampton, Huger, Horry, and 
others, who distinguished themselves from the beginning ; and, 
in the course of the conflict, a new race of youthful warriors 
sprang up to take the places of those who had been slain, and 
afford a respite to the labors of others, who had kept the field 
from the first moment when the British cannon thundered in 
hostility upon her shores. 

It does not fall within the plan of this work to record the 
smaller events, and assign the due praise to every young hero 
who acquired just renown in the service of his country. It is 
enough to say, that Carolina, from the opening of the campaign 
of 1780, became one vast and bloody battlefield, in which nearly 
all of her sons contended. Unhappily, they too often contended 
with one another ; and it is with a sentiment of profoundest 
melancholy that we record the fact, that the direst issues that 
ever took place within her borders — the severest trials of 
strength, and the most fearful conflicts — were those in which 

1. What names stand most conspicuous among the defenders of South Carolina? 
2. What waa the condition of the state from the opening of the campaign of 1780 ? 

13* 



298 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

her own sons were pitted against each other. The invaders 
gained their chief victories by the arms of those who, though 
not always natives, had yet become Citizens and the proper 
champions of the soil. 

The flight of Cornwallis into Virginia enabled Greene to 
direct his undivided attention to the remaining enemy in Caro- 
lina, and on the I9th of April, 1781, he sat down with his main 
army before Camden. 

On the 15th of the same month. General Marion, having the 
lef^ion of Colonel Lee under his command, invested Fort Wat- 
son on the Santee. This was a stockade fort, erected on one of 
the largest of the many ancient mounds which skirt this river. 
It was elevated about forty feet from the level of the plain, and 
far from any eminence which could com.mand it. Its garrison 
consisted of about eighty regulars and forty loyalists, commanded 
by Lieutenant M'Kay of the regular troops. Unprovided as he 
was with artillery, it was impregnable to Marion. Its steep 
sides and strong palisades discouraged any attempt to storm it. 

One of the first efforts made to subdue it was by cutting the 
garrison off from Scott's lake, by which it was supplied with 
water. From this danger M'Kay relieved himself by sinking 
a well within the stockade. Thus foiled, and without artillery, 
the besiegers must finally have been baffled, but for one of those 
ingenious devices which are perhaps more readily found by a 
primitive than an educated people. 

At a short distance from the fort there grew a small wood, 
which suggested the proper means of annoyance. The trees 
were felled, and the timber borne on the shoulders of the men, 
was piled crosswise, under cover of the night, within a proper 
distance of the fort. This enabled the assailants to command 
the fort, and with the dawn of day, when the light enabled the 
riflemen to single out their victims, the garrison found themselves 
overawed by the American rifles. A shower of bullets drove 
them from their defences, and left them no alternative but sub- 
mission. The capitulation of the fort soon soon followed; and, 

8. By what means did the invaders gain their chief victories ? 4. When did General 
Greene encamp with his main army before Camden ? 5. By whom was Fort Walson 
on the Santee invested ? 6. By whom was the fort commanded '? T. By what means 
did General Marion force tlie garrison to capitulate? 



BATTLE OF HOBKIRK's HILL. 299 

pushing his prisoners before him, Marion, after this success, 
hurried his force forward to effect a junction with Greene. The 
advance of Marion brought on the battle of Hobkirk's HilL 

Camden, before which the main army lay, is a beautiful vil- 
lage, situated on a plain covered on the south and east sides by 
the Wateree, and a creek which empties itself into that river. 
On the western and northern sides, it was guarded by six strong 
redoubts. It was garrisoned by Lord Rawdon with about nine 
hundred choice troops. 

Hobkirk's Hill, where Greene took post, was about a mile 
and a half in advance of the British redoubts. It is a narrow 
sand-ridge of little elevation, which divides the head springs of 
two small branches, the one emptying into the "Wateree river, 
the other into Pine-Tree creek. 

The American force did not much exceed eight hundred men, 
and the strong defences of Camden, and his own want of suffi- 
cient artillery, were sufficient reasons to keep him from making 
any attempts upon that place. But tliis inferiority did not in- 
duce any timidity on the part of the American commander- 
Having made his arrangements and posted his sentinels with 
singular precaution, Greene neglected no occasion to seduce or 
provoke his enemy to come out from his defences and give him 
battle. The fall of Fort Watson, and the approach of the force 
under Marion to a junction with the main army, had the effect 
of bringing about Greene's object, and forcing Rawdon into the 
field. 

On the 25th of April, Lord Rawdon, arming his musicians, 
drummers, and every person within his encampment by whom 
a weapon could be borne, sallied forth with great spirit to the 
attack. 

It has been said by some v/riters, that Greene suffered him- 
self to be surprised in this affair ; but this is an error. The 
attack was made on the very quarter in w^hich the American 
general was most prepared. The pickets behaved with the 
utmost coolness, gathering in the videttes, and forming with 

8. How is Camden situated ? 9. By whom was it at this time garrisoned ? 10. How 
is Hobliirk's Hill situated ? 11. What prevented General Greene from attacking 
Camden? 12. When was he attacked by Lord Rawdon? 



300 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

great deliberation under Colonel Kirkwood's Delaware com- 
mand. His position formed the American advance, and met 
the first shock of the enemy's charge. 

Here the contest was maintained for a while with singular 
obstinacy, and this little squad retired slowly, fighting with 
resolute determination, step by step, as they receded before the 
accumulating pressure of the foe. Lord Eawdon's line was 
composed of the 13th regiment on the right, the New York 
volunteers in the centre, and the American loyalists on the left. 
The right was supported by Irish troops, and the left by a 
detachment under Captain Robertson. 

The regiment posted with the cavalry was raised in South 
Carolina ; so that on this bloody day, the number of European 
troops engaged was very small. Most of Rawdon's army were 
Americans by birth or immigration. Nearly one half of his 
troops were in reserve ; the front which he advanced w^as com- 
paratively small. He had, besides, taken a lesson from the 
American leaders, and employed flanking parties of picked 
loyalist riflemen, who moved abreast of his wing among the 
trees, and did much towards deciding the issue of the day. The 
fall of two of the best American officers in the beginning of the 
fight, w^as the cause of a most unfortunate disorder which fol- 
lowed among the troops. 

The front of Greene's army presented his whole force. Two 
Virginia regiments, under General Huger, were posted on the 
right of the road ; two Maryland, under Colonel Williams, on 
the left. The first Virginia, under Lieutenant-Colonel Camp- 
bell, was on the right of the whole ; the second Maryland, under 
Lieutenant-Colonel Ford, on the left. The second Virginia, 
under Lieutenant-Colonel Hawes, and the first Maryland, com- 
manded by Colonel Gunby, formed the centre. 

Greene, conjecturing that the enemy knew nothing of his 
having artillery — which had reached him only a little time 
before the action — had closed the two centre regiments before 
it, so that it was completely masked. The eifect may well be 
imagined, when these two regiments, suddenly retiring from the 

18. What description of troops composed General Greene's army ? 



BATTLE OF HOBKIRK's HILL. 301 

centre, left them free to vomit their showers of grape upon the 
dense ranks of the enemy preparing for the charge. 

The confusion and dismay were conspicuous. The squadrons 
sank, and wheeled, and fled, beneath the terrible discharge ; and 
nothing more seemed to be necessary than to give the command, 
to close upon their flanks with the regiments right and left, and 
cut them off from escape. The order was given. " Let the 
cavalry make for their rear ; Colonel Campbell will wheel upon 
their left ; Colonel Ford upon their right ; the whole centre 
will charge — charge with trailed arms ! " 

Such were the commands of Greene, which his aids rushed 
to convey to the several captains. The roll of the drums 
announced their tenor, and Washington, at the head of his 
cavalry, disappeared among the trees which lay between his 
troop and the rear of the enemy. 

The American general already believed his victory to be 
secure ; but he had no ordinary adversary in Rawdon. With 
the quickness of instinct, this commander threw out his support- 
ing columns, and the Americans, but a moment before in the 
fullest conviction that they had outflanked the enemy, were 
themselves outflanked. Their wings were enfiladed and their 
rear threatened. 

At this crisis, when everything depended upon the greatest 
coolness and a composure which might look undaunted upon 
the scene, the first Maryland regiment, by excellence esteemed, 
in the language of Roman eulogium, the tenth legion of the 
American army — that band to which all eyes were turned for 
example, which had conquered the British with their own 
weapon, the bayonet, at the noble passage of valor at the 
Cowpens — which alone had fought half of the battle at Guilford, 
and obtained more than half of the triumph of that no less 
bloody day — now, unaccountably, shrunk away from the issue, 
in a panic which could not be overcome. 

Greene, at this moment, was leading on the Virginian regi- 
ment of Campbell in person, on the extreme right, when he was 
called away by the confusion of the centre. Vainly, by voice and 
gesture, did he seek to restore their confidence, and bring them 
once more into the action. They heard and halted ; but the 



302 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

da}'' was already lost. They were already at the bottom of the 
hill, and the cheers and clamors of the enemy now commanded 
his attention in another quarter. 

Urging his horse up the eminence, he saw for the first time 
the utmost extent of his misfortune. But a single regiment 
remained entire ; his artillery was uncovered on the summit of 
the hill. To bring his troops off in order, and to save the artil- 
lery, were the only remaining objects ; and, amid a shower of 
bullets, the American general delivered his commands with 
composure, to draw off the right and left regiments and form 
them on that of Gunby, which was now rallied ; while their 
retreat should be covered by the second Virginia. 

This order, well executed, left to Greene the choice of delib- 
erate retreat, or a renewal of the battle. During its execution, 
the main efforts of the British were to secure possession of the 
artillery. Horse and foot were ascending the hill, and the 
matrosses w^ere about to fly, when the American general ap- 
plied his own hand to the drag-ropes. 

This example was not to be withstood. A little band rallied 
to their rescue, bearing their loaded muskets in one hand while 
applying the other to the ropes. The fight w^as renewed in this 
endeavor. 

A British corps appeared on the hill, moving to the charge. 
Dropping the ropes, the little troop, forming in the rear of the 
artillery, met them with a fire which, repeated with delib- 
erate resolution until escape was impossible, was terribly 
destructive. 

Thrice was the attempt renewed, and with the same effect. 
The assailants were driven off with loss, until an overpowering 
force of infantry and riflemen came to their assistance, and every 
man of this gallant little band, but forty-five in number, was 
either killed or taken. The artillery now seemed lost ; but at 
this crisis. Colonel "Washington charged in upon the road, and 
put an end to the strife around it. 

This gentleman, in addition to the rescue of the artillery, 

14. The battle being lost, -what were now the only objects of the American com- 
mander ? 15. By whom was the artillery rescued ? 16. How many prisoners did he 
take ? 



BATTLE OF HOBKIRK's HILL. 803 

captured more than two hundred prisoners. His humanity is 
alleged by the British to have been detrimental to his objects. 
A severe military judgment insists that he should have cut down 
instead of making captives. His prisoners encumbered his 
movements, and the time lost in taking them migiit have been 
of lasting benefit if it had been employed mercilessly upon the 
British rear. 

Rawdon was not in a condition to pursue the Americans far. 
The latter halted at a distance of two miles to recover stragglers 
and take refreshment. At noon, the retreat was resumed, and 
the army finally encamped at Sanders's creek, about four miles 
from the scene of action, to which place Washington was ordered 
back to reconnoitre. As he proceeded in obedience to this order, 
he was told that Kawdon had .returned to Camden, leaving Cap- 
tain Coffin with his cavalry and a body of mounted infantry in 
charge of the field of battle. 

This intelligence suggested to Washington the prospect of a 
new achievement. Retiring with his cavalry- into a thicket on 
the roadside, he pushed forward a small detachment, with orders 
to approach under covert until within a short distance of the 
enemy's position. His stratagem produced the desired effect; 
Coffin's whole troop pursued and fell into the ambuscade. 
Washington rose from his hiding-place as they reached it, and 
the whole party were either cut to pieces or compelled to save 
themselves by flight. The field of Hobkirk thus actually re- 
mained in possession of the Americans. 

The loss of the two armies in the main battle was nearly 
equal ; that of the British, by reason of the artillery which the 
American brought into the field, being somewhat the greater. 
The event did not discourage the American commander, and its 
results thickened the difficulties which at this time began to 
encompass the British. 

Very soon after the battle of Hobkirk, Greene detached a 
reinforcement to Marion on the Nelson's Ferry road, and on the 

I'r. Where did Greene's army finally encamp ? IS. Whom did Lord Eawdon leave 
in charge of the field of battle ? 19. Hom^ did Colonel Washington dislodge him ? 
20. Which party suffered the greatest loss in this battle ? 21. Soon after the battle of 
Hobkirk's Hill, what movement was made by General Greene ? 



304 HISTORY OP SOUTH CAROLINA. 

third of May crossed the Wateree, and took such positions as 
would enable him to prevent succors from going into Camden from 
that quarter. 

Rawdon, having received a considerable reinforcement under 
Watson, again sallied out on the eighth of May to bring the Amer- 
ican general, if possible, to a second action. His only hope for 
the maintenance of the post, was in the defeat and destruction 
of the array under Greene. The latter was not ignorant of the 
straits to which his adversary was reduced, and all the efforts 
of Rawdon to force him into battle proved unavailing. 

The British commander, baffled and disappointed, wreaked 
his vengeance upon the town which he had so long garrisoned, 
but which he felt himself no longer able to maintain. Camden 
was reduced to ashes, and amidst -the shrieks of its people, and 
the " curses, not loud, but deep," of the loyalists whom he could 
no longer protect, Lord Rawdon prepared to descend the coun- 
try. The fall of Fort Watson had broken the chain of com- 
munication with Charlestown, and Marion was even now busy 
in the leaguer of Fort Motte. 

Having devastated the country, it no longer yielded support 
to Rawdon's troops. These the British commander resolved to 
save, though by the loss of the post and of the confidence of the 
tories. These miserable people, whose savage fury had so long 
hunted their countrymen with fire and sword, no longer pro- 
tected from their vengeance by the arms of the British, were 
compelled to abandon their homes, and follow the fortunes of 
the enemy. They dared not await the justice of the Americans. 
Hundreds followed his lordship, scorned and despised by their* 
allies and hated by their countrymen. Their history may be 
dismissed in this place. After sharing all the vicissitudes of an 
army retiring before a pursuing foe, they reached Charlestown, 
and built for themselves a settlement of huts without the lines. 
This hamlet, by a miserable mockery, was called Rawdontown. 
Here, men, women, and children were crowded togetiier in a 
wretched condition of poverty and shame. They had dwelt 
happily on their farms near Camden ; and perished in the utmost 

22. Unable to force the Americans into battle, what was done by Lord Rawdon ? 
23. What became of the tories in the neighborhood ? 



BATTLE OF HOBKIRK'S HILL. 305 

destitution, utterly unnoticed and unassisted by those for whom 
they had sacrificed the ties of society, and all the first claims of 
country ; the victims equally of disease and want, they died, to 
use the emphatic language of that time, like " rotten sheep " 
upon the suburbs. 

24. What was finally the fato of these wretched people ? 



306 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 



CHAPTER X. 

TO THE SIEGE AND ABANDONMENT OF "NINETY-SIX." 

The breaking up of the British post at Camden, however un- 
avoidable, was one of essential disservice to the British cause. 
From that moment the numbers of the Americans increased — 
arms in their hands and indignation in their hearts — following 
the footsteps of the retreating army, and wreaking vengeance 
at every turn, for the long suffering and cruel indignities which 
they had undergone. To Rawdon it seemed as if the fabled 
teeth of the dragon had been sown around -dbim, so prolific on a 
sudden was the increase among his foes. 

That this measure had become one of imperative necessity 
to the British commander, is unquestionable. With a strong 
enemy hanging upon his skirts — a dissatisfied population all 
around him — Marion and Lee, Sumter and Pickens, busy, with 
their accustomed promptitude, and operating upon the posts be- 
low, which connected him with Charlestown, and secured to him 
his only route of retreat to the seaboard — he had no alterna- 
tive but to evacuate a station from which he had vSO long over- 
awed the country, but which was now no longer tenable. The 
activity of the partisan bands below him, also, demanded his 
early succor for the several garrisons which they threatened. 
His own safety pressingly urged the propriety of his retreat. 

Greene simply awaited the arrival of recruits from Virginia, 
when, it was evident to Rawdon no less than to his opponent, 
that all his stores and resources must fall into the hands of the 
Americans. 

The hopes of the Carolinians grew doubly active at this pe- 
riod. The old revolutionary spirit, which had distinguished the 
people at the time of the battle of Fort Moultrie, seemed once 

1, What effects followed the breaking up of the British post at Camden? 



TO THE ABANDONMENT OF NINETY-SIX. 307 

more to reanimate them. Squads of armed wliigs sprang up 
simultaneously in every quarter of the state. Well mounted, 
and commanded by popular leaders, they seemed endowed with 
the attributes of ubiquity, and appeared to the astonished Brit- 
ons to be everywhere at once. The very names of Marion, 
Sumter, and Pickens, were productive of momentary panic ; 
and detachments from the troops of the two former generals, 
availing themselves of the flight of Cornwallis to Virginia, and 
the approach of Greene, carried their arms to the very gates of 
Charlestown. 

Major Harden, a gentleman of Beaufort, whose name fur- 
nished one of the rallying sounds of the revolution, was a chief 
instrument in the hands of Marion for carrying out the bold 
and expert achievements which have crowned their names with 
a local celebrity as honorable as it is vivid and unperishing. 
With seventy select men, crossing the enemy's lines of com- 
munication, Harden ravaged the countiy, in the face of the foe, 
from Monk's Corner to the Savannah river. His force gathered as 
it went forward, and wrs quickly increased to two hundred men. 
With a rapidity of movement w^hich baffled pursuit, he com- 
bined a readiness and valor which made him successful in every 
encounter. To entrap him, appeared as impossible as pursuit 
of him was vain. The Savannah no longer remained a boundary ; 
but, throwing himself across from bank to bank, as circumstances 
required it, he became a terror to the loyalists of both provinces, 
extending his ravages from the seaboard to Augusta, and utterly 
defeating every attempt to accumulate a force against him. This 
duty achieved, he joined the detachment under General Pick- 
ens, who was then operating against Augusta, and Ninety-Six. 

The fall of Camden led to the rapid overthrow of the ene- 
my's chain of posts below, and completed the recovery of the 
state to within thirty miles of the sea. Greene, concluding, 
after the evacuation of this place by Raw^don, that it would be 
the enemy's object to withdraw his posts on the Congaree, and 
concentrate them below the Santee, despatched expresses to 

2. "What was done by detachments from the troops of Marion and Sumter ? 3. Who 
made himself conspicuous against the iuA'adersin tiie country from Monk's Corner to 
the Savannah ? 4 What offeo'.s followed tlie fall of Camdtjn? 



308 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

Marion and Sumter to prepare themselves for such an event. 
He, himself, ordering the army to proceed by the Camden road 
for the Congaree, took an escort of cavahy and moved down in 
person to Fort Motte. 

At M' Cord's ferry, he received the tidings of the capitulation of 
this place. Fort Motte lies above the fork on the south side of 
the Consfaree. The works of the British were built around the 
mansion-house of the lady whose name it bore, and from which, 
in their savage recklessness of shame, the British officers had 
expelled her. It was a noble mansion of considerable value ; 
but not of so much value as to abridge the patriotism of the 
high-spirited owner. Defended by a strong gai'rison, under a 
resolute commander, the fortress promised to baffle for a long 
time the progress of the besiegers. Under these circumstances, 
Mrs. Motte, who had been driven for shelter to a neighboring 
hovel, produced an Indian bow, which, with a quiver of arrows, 
she presented to the American commander. 

" Take these," she said, while presenting them, " and expel 
the enemy. These will enable you to fire the house." 

Her earnest entreaty that this course might be adopted, pre- 
vailed with the reluctant Marion. Combustibles were fastened 
to the arrows, which were shot into the roof of the dwelling ; and 
the patriotic woman rejoiced in the destruction of her property 
when it secured the conquest of her countrymen. Such, 
throughout the dreary war of the revolution, was universally 
the character of the Carolina w^omen. The sons fought; but 
who shall measure the aid and comfort and influence which the 
daughters brought to the conflict ? This will need a volume to 
itself. 

Driven out from their place of shelter, the garrison at Fort 
Motte was forced to surrender ; and the force under Marion 
was ready for operation in other quarters. A portion of it, 
under Colonel Lee, was immediately despatched by Greene, as 
the van of the army, for the reduction of Fort Granby. 

The fall of Fort Motte increased the panic of the British ; 
and, two days after that event, they evacuated their post at Nel- 

5. Where is Fort Motte situated ? fi. By what means was the garrison forced to 
capitulate? 



TO THE ABANDONMENT OF NINETY-SIX. 309 

son's ferry, blew up the fortifications, and destroyed their stores. 
Fort Granby, after a brief conflict, was surrendered with all 
its garrison, consisting of nearly four hundred men. The terms 
afforded by Colonel Lee were greatly complained of by the 
Carolinians. These terms gave to the enemy the privilege of 
carrying off their baggage, in which was included an immense 
quantity of plunder. The approach of Lord Rawdon, with all 
his army, is said to have hastened the operations of Lee, and to 
have led to the liberal concessions which he made to the garri- 
son ; but he has incurred the reproach of hastening the capitu- 
lation in order to anticipate the arrival of Sumter and the grand 
army. The siege had been begun some time before by Sum- 
ter, who had left Colonel Taylor, with a strong party, to main- 
tain his position, while he made a sudden descent upon the ene- 
my's post at Orangeburg, in which he was thoroughly success- 
ful. Sumter himself conceived that he had suffered injury by 
the capitulation, in which nothing was gained but the earlier 
possession of a post which could not have been held many days 
longer, and must have fallen, without conditions and with all its 
spoils, into the hands of the Americans. It was with bitter 
feelings that the whig militia beheld the covered wagons of the 
enemy — drawn by their own horses, which they knew to be 
filled with the plunder of their farms and houses — driven away 
before their eyes. 

On the 11th of May, the garrison at Orangeburg, to the num- 
ber of one hundred, with all their stores and a large supply of 
provisions, surrendered to Sumter after a spirited assault. 

From Granby, Lee was sent to co-operate with Pickens 
against Augusta ; and, three days after^ the fall of the former 
post, his legion was arrayed before the walls of the latter. 

Meanwhile, General Greene took up the line of march for 
Ninety-Six ; and, on the 22d of May, he sat down before that 
formidable station. The reduction of this place was an object 
of the greatest interest. The village of Cambridge — or, as it 

7. Two (lays after the fall of Fort Motte, what was done by the British in that quar- 
ter? 8. To whom did Fort Granby capitulate ? 9. What terms did he allow the ene- 
my V 10. "Why did Sumter conceive himself injured by this capitulation ? 11. To 
whom did the garrison at Orangeburg capitulate? 12. W^hen did General Greene 
appear before Ninety-Six ? 



310 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

was called in that day, the post of Ninety-Six — was at this time 
the pivot of very extensive operations. To possess it, there- 
fore, was to give the finishing blow to the British strength in 
the interior of the state. The task of holding Lord Rawdon 
in check in Charlestown was confided to Sumter and Marion. 

In the execution of this duty, they closed in upon him, until 
he established a fine of fortified posts, extending from George- 
town, by Monk's Corner, Dorchester, &c., to Coosawhatchie. 
The British were frequently harassed by the partisans, who 
made incursions within this line ; but the force of the assailants 
was not adequate to any serious attack upon any one of them, 
that of Georgetown alone excepted. This station having been 
left with a small garrison, and being separated from the rest of 
the line by swamps and water-courses of such magnitude as to 
prevent any sudden relief from reaching it, was attacked and 
carried. The British fled to their galleys, while Marion delibe- 
rately moved all the military stores and public property up the 
Pedee, demolished the fortifications, and returned, without loss, 
to his position in St. Stephens. The fall of the British forts at 
Augusta followed this event ; and the leading object of General 
Greene was the prosecution of the siege of Ninety-Six. 

This siege was one of the most animated occurrences of the 
American war. It lasted nearly a month. The place was re- 
markable on many accounts. It was the scene of the first con- 
flict in the southern, and perhaps, in the revolutionary war. In 
this place, in the year 1775, began that sanguinary hostility be- 
tween the whigs and tories,. which afterward desolated the beau- 
tiful country around it. 

A peculiar circumstance invited the hostile parties to this 
spot. It had been surrounded with a stockade as a defence 
agrainst the incursions of the Indians, whose settlements were 
then in its near neighborhood. The stockade still remained, 

13. By what name is the village situated at that place now known? 14. What ad- 
vantage miglit be expected from the reduction of that post? 15. To whom had been 
confided the task of keeping Lord Eawdon in check in Charlestown ? IG. Where had 
the British established a line of fortified posts ? 17. "Which of these posts Avas at- 
tacked by the Americans? 18. With what success? 19. What followed this event? 
20. How long did the siege of Ninety-Six last? 21. On what account was this place 
remarkable ? 



TO THE ABANDONMENT OP NINETY-SIX. 311 

and was improved and garrisoned by the British soon after they 
had obtained possession of Charlestown. It made a chief point 
in their chain of military posts, and was trebly important as it 
maintained an open communication with the Indians, kept in 
check the whig settlements on the west, and covered those of 
the loyalists on the north, south, and east of it. It was the 
most advanced post of the royal army, was a depot of recruits, 
and contributed to the support of Camden and Augusta, in the 
overawing influence which they maintained upon the population 
of the two states of South Carolina and Georgia. 

At the time that Greene commenced his siege, the post was 
under the command of Colonel Cruger, with a garrison of near 
six hundred men — all native Americans. Cruger himself was 
an American loyalist of New York, which state, with that of 
New Jersey, furnished the great body of his army. These had 
enlisted at an early period of the war, and w^ere considered 
among the best soldiers of the royal army. The remaining 
portion of his force were riflemen recruited in the neighborhood 
— men, desperate from their social position, and marksmen of 
the first order. This latter body were conspicuous in the suc- 
cessful defence of the place. 

Cruger, on the approach of Greene, lost no time in preparing 
for his defence. He soon completed a ditch around his stock- 
ade, threw the earth upon it, parapet height, and secured it 
within by traverses and coverts, to facilitate a safe communica- 
tion between all his points of defence. His ditch he farther 
secured by abbatis, and, at convenient distances within the 
stockade, erected strong block-houses of notched logs. Within 
this post he was in possession of a very respectable battery, of 
a star shape, with sixteen salient and returning angles, which 
communicated with the stockade. This battery was defended 
by three pieces of artillery, on wheel-carriages, which could be 
moved readily from one point to another. On the north of the 
village extends a valley, through which flows a rivulet that sup- 
plied the garrison with water. The county prison lying near 

22. Why was it of peculiar importance to the British ? 23. At the time that Greene 
commenced his siege, by whom was it commanded ? 24. How many and of what 
description were his troops V 25. Who was Colonel Cruger ? 



812 HISTORY OP SOUTH CAROLINA. 

was fortified, and commanded the valley on the side next the 
village. On the opposite side of the valley, and within reach 
of the fire from the jail, was a strong stockade fort with two 
block-houses, which covered the communication with the rivulet 
from that quarter. A covert way led from the town to the 
rivulet. "^ 

Greene, when he beheld the strength of the place, appre- 
hended the failure of his enterprise ; but this doubt did not dis- 
courage him from his design. He broke ground on the 23d of 
May, and by the 3d of June had completed his second parallel. 
The engineer of the American army was the celebrated Polish 
exile, Kosciusko. He has been reproached with the slowness of 
his operations. On completing the first parallel, a mine, di- 
rected against the star-battery of the enemy, was commenced 
under cover of a battery erected on his right. The work was 
pursued by the besiegers, day and night, without intermission. 
The troops labored alternately in the ditches, some on guard 
while others toiled, and even sleeping on their arms to repel the 
sallies of the besieged, which were bold and frequent, and re- 
sulted in long and spirited conflicts. The American works 
steadily advanced, however, in spite of these sallies ; but a 
fierce strife followed every step in their progress, and not a 
night passed without the loss of lives on both sides. 

As soon as the ground-parallel was completed, the garrison 
was summoned to surrender. The demand was answered with 
defiance, and the siege was pressed. With time to complete the 
approaches of the beleaguering army, the fall of the garrison had 
been certain ; but the force of Greene was wretchedly inade- 
quate. His recruits of militia from Virginia had failed to ar- 
rive ; the Carolina troops were all actively engaged in keeping 
Rawdon in check below ; while Cruger, with timely prudence, 
had incorporated with his army his negro laborers, and was far- 
ther aided from without by a marauding force under William 
Cunningham, which materially interfered with the supplies, the 
recruits, and general intelligence of the Americans. 

Still the advance of the besiegers was such, that farther re- 

26. Was tlie place strongly fortified V 27. Who acted as engineer in the besieging 
array ? 



TO THE ABANDONMENT OF NINETY-SIX. 313 

sistance would soon have been temerity. The Americans had 
completed their third parallel, and, from wooden towers, the 
marksmen of the assailing army had succeeded in driving the 
British artillerists from their guns. To fire the houses of the 
garrison by means of burning arrows, such as had been em- 
ployed in the capture of Fort Motte, was next resorted to by 
the Americans ; but Cruger freed himself from this danger by 
ptomptly throwing off the roofs of his houses. 

The works of the besiegers were so near completion, that a 
farther defence of the place was limited to four days. Besides 
the towers before spoken of, one of which was within thirty 
yards of the enemy's ditch, the besiegers had several batteries 
of cannon within a hundred and forty yards, one of which so 
completely commanded the " star " that the garrison were com- 
pelled to shelter themselves behind bags of sand, which in- 
creased its elevation by three feet. Through these sand-bags, 
apertures were left for the use of small arms by day, and the 
withdrawal of the sand-bags, left embrazures for the employ- 
ment of the cannon by night. 

Thus, for ten days, the besiegers and besieged lay watching 
each other. During this time, not a man could show his head 
on either side, without incurring the shot of the riflemen. Still 
the garrison, though greatly suffering from the American fire, 
maintained its defence with a constancy that reflects the highest 
honor on its commander. That Cruger must have surrendered, 
that it would have been a wanton sacrifice of life for him to 
continue a conflict in such circumstances, was inevitable, but 
that he had been strengthened in his resolution by advices 
which had reached him from without. 

Rawdon, reinforced by three regiments from Ireland, had 
broken through the obstructions offered by the partisan forces 
under Marion, and was advancing by rapid marches to the re- 
lief of Ninety-Six. 

This important intelligence had been conveyed to Cruger, 
and invigorated his defence. A woman was the instrument 

28. How did the Americans endeavor to fire the houses of the garrison ? 29. By 
what means did Cruger free himself from this danger ? 30. How was Cruger ani- 
mated ^o continue his resistance? 31. By whom was the intelligence conveyed to 
him ? 

14 



814 HISTOEY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

employed by the British for encouraging Cruger to protract 
the siege. Residing in the neighborhood, she had visited the 
camp of Greene, under some pretence of little moment. The 
daughter of one tried patriot, and the sister of another, she had 
been received at the general's table, and permitted the freedom 
of the encampment. But she had formed a matrimonial con- 
nection with a British officer, and the ties of love had proved 
stronger than those of any other relationship. In the opportu- 
nities thus afforded her, she contrived to apprize the garrison 
that she had a communication from Lord Rawdon. A young 
loyalist received it from her lips, at a farmhouse in the neigh- 
borhood, and, under the fires of the sentinels, dashing success- 
fully and at full speed by the pickets, he was admitted with 
hurras into the garrison. 

This circumstance, and the approach of Rawdon, rendered it 
necessary to abandon the siege or carry the place by assault. 
By mid-day, on the morning of the 18th of June, the different 
detachments of the army were in readiness. On the American 
left, against the star battery, Lieutenant Duval, with a com- 
mand of Marylanders, and Lieutenant Selden, with another of 
Virginians, led the forlorn hope. Close behind them followed 
a party furnished with hooks at the end of staves, and these 
were followed by the first Maryland and first Virginia, under 
Colonel Campbell, prepared for the assault. These were 
marched, under cover of the approaches, to within a few yards 
of the enemy's ditch. The posts, rifle towers, and advanced 
works of the besiegers, were all manned, with orders to clear 
the parapets of the garrison previous to the advance of the 
storming party. On the American right, against the stockade 
fort, Major Rudolph commanded Colonel Lee's forlorn hope, 
supported by the infantry of the legion, and Captain Kirkwood, 
with the remains of the Delaware regiment. Duval and Sel- 
den were ordered to clear away the abbatis, and occupy the 
curtain opposite them ; then, driving off the enemy from the 
sides of the angle thus occupied, to open the way for the bill- 
men to pull down the sand-bags. These overthrown, were to 
assist tlie party of Campbell in mounting to the assault. 

A discharge of cannon, at noon, was the signal for the parties 



TO THE ABANDONMENT OF NINETY-SIX. . 315 

to move. A blaze of artillery and small arms, directed to the 
point of attack, covered the forlorn hope in its smoke. Under 
its shade, this gallant band leaped into the ditch, and commenced 
the work assigned them ; but the enemy was prepared for them, 
and met the assault with valor and determination. Bayonets 
and pikes bristled above the parapet, and from the loopholes in 
the sand-bags, poured an incessant stream of fire, which swept 
the slender ranks of* the assailants. The form of the redoubt 
gave the defenders a complete command of the ditch ; and their 
coolness, and the comparative safety of their cover, enabled 
them to use it with complete success. 

Under the cross-fire from opposite sections of the redoubt, 
the little band of Americans were mowed down with fearful 
havoc. Their leaders had both fallen, severely wounded, and 
two-thirds of their number lay bleeding and in death around 
them ; yet was the strife maintained for near three-quarters of 
an hour, and the assailants, as if resolved on no other issues 
than death or victory, only retreated at length, at the express 
orders of their commander. In this conflict, they obtained pos- 
session of the curtain, and, in their retreat, though still under a 
galling fire from the garrison, they brought off the greater num- 
ber of their wounded comrades. The attempt, by assault, was 
shown to be fruitless. Lord Rawdon, with twenty-five hundred 
fresh troops, appeared, soon after, in the neighborhood, and 
nothing was left to the American general but retreat. Had a 
few days of time been allowed to Greene's approaches on Nine- 
ty-Six, or had the supplies of militia promised from Virginia 
reached him, the prize for which he struggled must have been 
in his possession. Now, bafEed, if not beaten, he fell back 
slowly and sullenly before the pursuit of Rawdon, until the lat- 
ter, weary of a chase which promised to be hopeless, and, 
warned by circumstances which called him elsewhere, aban- 
doned equally the pursuit and the country. 

His march had served only to extricate Cruger from his im- 
mediate difficulty. The proofs were convincing, all around 

82. What was the result of the attack upon Ninety-Six ? 83. What troops appeared 
in the neighborhood soon after the attack ? 34. Upon what did the American gene- 
ral resolve? 85. What movement was then made by Colonel Cruger? 



316 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

him, that the day had gone by when a foreign foe could main- 
tain itself among the recovering inhabitants. " Ninety-Six," in 
defence of which so much blood had been already shed, was, 
therefore, abandoned to the assailants, from whom it had been 
so lately rescued ; and piteous, indeed, was the misery of the 
wretched loyalists, whom this abandonment virtually surren- 
dered to the rage of the long-persecuted patriots. A fearful 
day of retribution was at hand, which they did not venture to 
await. At a season when their farms were most lovely in the 
promise of a plenteous harvest, they were compelled to sur- 
render them and fly. 

Vainly did their chiefs expostulate with Rawdon against his 
desertion of those who, to serve the cause of their sovereign, 
had incurred the enduring hostility of their countrymen. But 
the necessity was not less pressing upon the British general 
than upon his wretched allies ; and, with a last look upon their 
homes, a mournful cavalcade of men, women, and children, pre- 
pared to abandon the fields of equal beauty and plenty, which 
their treachery to their country had richly forfeited, but for 
which they were still willing to perish rather than depart. 

Sullenly the strong men led the way, while, with eyes that 
streamed and still looked backward, the women and children 
followed reluctantly, and with souls full of wretchedness and 
grief. How bitterly in their ears, at such a moment, must have 
sounded the notes of that drum and trumpet which had beguiled 
them from the banners of their country to those of its invader ? 
What a pang to the bosoms of the fathers ; what a lesson to 
the sons, guiltless of the offence, yet condemned to share in its 
penalties. Surely, when the barbarian drum again sounds to 
war in Carolina, her children will find themselves all, with one 
heart, united under the same banner. 

36. What became of the loyalists in that neighborhood ? 



EXPEDITION TO THE LOW COUNTRY. 817 



CHAPTER XT. 

EXPEDITION TO THE LOW COUNTRY — SUMTER, MARION, ETC. 

The retreat of the British from Ninety- Six, while it encour- 
aged the whigs in that quarter, induced a very general appre- 
hension that it would enable Lord Rawdon, by the additional 
force which it afforded him, to re-establish all the posts which 
he had lately lost to the southward of the Santee. After the 
flight of Cornwallis to Virginia, the British commanders in 
South Carolina had contracted their operations almost entirely 
within that extent of country which is enclosed by the Santee, 
the Congaree, and the Edisto. 

Within these limits, after the late retreat of Greene, Rawdon 
had resolved to canton his forces, and the most eligible positions 
were examined with this object. But he soon found that the 
American general was not disposed to suffer the progress of this 
intention, without endeavoring to arrest or disturb it ;and great 
was his surprise, accordingly, to hear that Greene, whom he had 
so lately driven before him, had faced about to give him battle 
upon the Congaree. 

Having divided his force, and given one part of it to Colonel 
Stewart, who was stationed at Orangeburg, he felt himself un- 
equal to the encounter ; and, following the dictates of veteran 
prudence, he fell back before the approaching Americans, re- 
treating hastily to this latter post, where he was sheltered on 
one side by the Edisto, and on the other with strong buildings, 
little inferior to redoubts. In the advance which Greene con- 
tinued to make upon the retreating foe, an opportunity offered 

1. What apprehension was excited by the reinforcement of Lord Eawdon's troops 
from the post at Ninety-Six ? 2. After the flight of Lord Cornwallis into Virginia, 
to what part of the country did the British confine their operations ? 3. What was 
Lord Eawdon surprised to find V 4. To what post did his lordship retire? 5. How 
was this post sheltered '! 



318 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

of striking a blow at his cavalry. Rawdon had with him but a 
small number of horse ; his chief strength in this description of 
troops being engaged in distant operations. 

Major Eggleston, with a strong body of the American cavalry, 
throwing himself in advance of the enemy, placed an ambush in 
reserve, and presented himself with a small number in view of 
the British. This drew upon him, as was anticipated, an attack 
from the whole hostile cavalry. His flight s'.duced them to the 
thicket where the rest of his troop was concealed, and their joint 
charges completely overwhelmed the foe. Many were slain, 
and forty-five men and horse, with several commissioned officers, 
within a mile of the whole British army, fell into the hands of 
the Americans. The flight of Rawdon to Orangeburg, stimu- 
lated by this event and the accumulating numbers and audacity 
of the Americans, was so precipitate, that more than fifty of the 
British army fell dead on the march, from fatigue, heat, and 
privation. 

Greene encamped within five miles of Orangeburg, and 
off"ered battle to his antagonist. Secure in his stronghold, Raw- 
don did not venture to sally out ; and the force of the American 
general was too feeble to justify an attack upon him in his works. 
Several efforts which he made with his cavalry, to arrest the 
approach of supplies to the British, having proved abortive, and 
tidings having reached him of the advance of Cruger with fifteen 
hundred men to the relief of Rawdon, compelled General Greene 
to retire from a position which he could not have maintained 
against his foe after the junction with Cruger. A day before 
the junction was effected, he withdrew to the High Hills of 
Santee, while he meditated other modes for the expulsion of 
the enemy from the strong position which he had taken on the 
Edisto. 

Having succeeded in driving Rawdon from Camden, by 
striking at the posts below, it was resolved to pursue a like plan 
of warfare, to compel the evacuation of Orangeburg. In obe- 
dience to this resolution, Sumter and Marion, with their several 

6. By what event was the flight of Lord Eawdon to Orangeburg stimulated ? 7. 
Where did General Greene encam]) against him ? 8. How was he compelled to 
retire from this position? 9. To what place did Greene withdraw? 10. By what 
means did he resolve to compel the enemy to evacuate Orangeburg? 



EXPEDITION TO THE LOW COUNTRY. 319" 

commands, consisting chiefly of the state troops, and officered 
by those most able partisans, the two Hamptons, Taylor, 
Horry, Maham, Lacy, and others who had maintained the 
liberties of their country in the swamps, when they were too 
feeble to hold their ground in the field, were accordingly let 
loose, in an incursion into the low country, which drove the 
enemy in all quarters for safety into Charlestown, and, for a 
time, prostrated the royal power even to the gates of that place. 
This was the famous raid of the dog-days. It took place in 
midsummer, when the continentals dared not march. 

While the partisans were sweeping down every path that led 
to the city, Greene, with the main army, pursued the road lead- 
ing down the south side of the Congaree, and the east side of 
Cooper river. 

Various little successes distinguished the progress of the par- 
tisans. Colonel Wade Hampton charged a party of dragoons 
within five miles of Charlestown, and appearing before the walls 
of the city, occasioned a degree of alarm in the garrison, which 
could scarcely have been justified by the appearance of the whole 
American force. The bells were rung, alarm-guns fired, and 
the whole force of the city confusedly gathered, and under 
arms. 

In this foray, Hampton captured fifty prisoners, and after 
exhibiting them to the sentinels on the more advanced redoubts, 
coolly retired, without suffering interruption or injury. He also 
burned four vessels, laden with valuable stores for the British 
army. Lieutenant-Colonel Lee took all the wagons and wagon- 
horses belonging to a convoy of provisions ; traversed Dorchester 
and the neighborhood, from which the garrison was expelled ; 
and^ meeting with Hampton, proceeded to rejoin the main body 
under Sumter. 

Meanwhile, a detachment of Marion's men, under Colonel 
Maham, passing the head of Cooper river and Wadboo creek, 
penetrated below to the eastward of Biggin church, to obstruct 



11. Who accordiagly made incursions into the lower country ? 12. What success 
attended them ? 13. Wliat road was meanwhile pursued by Greene ? 14. What is 
related of Colonel Wade Hampton? 15. What was done by LicutenaiTt-Colonel Lee? 
16. By whom was Biggin churel) garrisoned ? 



320 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

tlie retreat of the garrison at the church, by destroying tlie 
Wadboo bridge. 

■ The church near Biggin bridge was a strong brick building, 
about a mile from Monk's Corner, where the British had a re- 
doubt. The church covered the bridge, and secured the retreat 
at that point by way of the Corner. It was strongly garrisoned 
by Lieutenant- Colonel Coates, with a British force of nearly 
seven hundred men ; a'ftd the detachment under Maham did 
not dare to advance with any confidence while unsupported by 
the main American force, under Sumter. 

On the sixteenth of June, Sumter having collected the greater 
portion of his detachment, advanced to support Maham in his 
attempt upon the bridge. Reinforcing his troop with a detach- 
mant under Colonel Peter Horry, the command devolved upon 
the latter officer, who at once proceeded to the destruction of 
the bridge. The cavalry of the enemy advanced boldly to 
defeat his purpose, but were received by the mounted American 
riflemen, who broke entirely through them, killing some, and 
taking a number of prisoners. 

This defeat drew out the British in such force, that the party 
engaged in destroying the bridge was compelled to fall back 
upon the main body. Sumter, believing that the British had 
marched out to give him battle, retired behind a defile at a little 
distance in the rear, and prepared to receive the attack in the 
most advantageous position. 

But the British colonel had no such purpose. In proportion 
as the confidence of the Americans rose in the conflict, that of 
the invaders invariably fell. The purpose of Coates was simply 
to wear out the day. With the approach of night, he accumu- 
lated the stores of the garrison within the church, and,having set 
fire to them, moved off on his flight to the eastward by Wadboo 
and Quinby. 

The flames bursting through the roof of the sacred edifice, first 
informed Sumter of the flight of the enemy. The pursuit was 

17. How is the church situated ? 18. What was done by Colonel Maham with a 
detachment of Marion's men? 19. Who commanded the detachment that proceeded 
to the destruction of tlie bridge art Wadboo? 20. With the approach of night, what 
was done by Colonel Coates? 21. How did Sumter discover the flight of the 
enemy 7 



EXPEDITION TO THE LOW COUNTRY. 821 

immediately commenced ; but, unfortunately, Lieutenant Single- 
ton, with a piece of artillery, was ordered to remain upon the 
ground, that he might not delay the movements of the infantry. 
Lee and Hampton led the pursuit, until, having passed the 
Wadboo, they discovered that the cavalry of the enemy had 
separated from the infantry, and had taken the route to the 
right. I 

Hampton diverged in this direction, urging his panting horses 
to the utmost, in the hope to overtake them before they could 
effect their passage of the river. In this he was unsuccessful, 
and he returned only to witness the equally fortunate escape of 
the enemy's infantry, the only remaining object of pursuit. 

Marion's cavalry had joined the legion cavalry of Lee, and 
about a mile to the north of Quinby creek they overtook the 
rear-guard of the retreating army, consisting of one hundred 
men. The furious onset of the cavalry deprived them almost 
of the power of resistance. They threw down their arms with- 
out firing a gun. 

Colonel Coates having passed Quinby bridge, had already 
commenced its demolition, and only awaited the passage of the 
rear-guard and his baggage to complete its destruction. The 
planks which covered the bridge were already loosened from 
their sleepers, and a howitzer, at its opposite extremity, was so 
placed -as to protect the party engaged in throwing them off. 
As the rear-guard had been overcome without any fight, no 
alarm-gun had been fired, no express had been sent to apprize 
the British commander of his danger, and he was almost wholly 
unprepared for the defence. The panic by which he had lost 
one important part of his force, had nearly involved the anni- 
hilation of the remainder. 

He happened, however, fortunately for himself, to be at the 
bridge when the American cavalry came rushing into view. 
His main body was at this moment partly on the causeway, on 
the south side of the bridge, and partly pressed into a lane be- 

22. Did the Americans succeed in overtaking the enemy before they had crossed 
the river? 23. In what condition did they find Quinby bridge? 24. What had 
become of the rear-guard ? 25. W^hat was the situation of the British at the time the 
American cavalry approached ? 

14* 



322 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

yond it. Thus crowded, they were wholly disabled for imme- 
diate action. Coates, nevertheless, coolly prepared himself as 
well as he might, to remedy the difficulties of his situation, and 
make his resistance as effectual as possible. Orders were de- 
spatched to his troops on the advance, to halt, form, and march 
up, while the artillerists were called to the howitzer, and the 
fatigue party to the renewal of their labors for the destruction 
of the bridge. 

If the situation of the British was thus perilous, that of the 
pursuing Americans for a time became scarcely less so. The 
planks sliding into the water, and the open jaws of the howitzer, 
ready to send destruction into their crowded ranks, left them 
little time for deliberation. Pressing upon each other, a dense 
mass upon a narrow causeway, they felt that the withdrawal of 
the enemy's fatigue party from the destruction of the bridge 
would be the signal for applying the lighted port-fire to the 
howitzer. A moment longer, and the iron hail Avould have 
mowed down their columns. 

The front section of the American force was led by Captain 
Armstrong, of Lee's legion. He saw the danger, and availed 
himself of the single moment that was left him. Dashing over 
the bridge, he drove the artillerists from the gun. Lieutenant 
Carrington followed ; the third section advanced, but faltered. 
Maham, at the head of Marion's men, feeling the halt, charged 
by the legionary cavalry ; but the death of his horse arrested 
his progress. Captain M'Cauley, who led his front section, 
pressed on, passed the bridge, and joined in the fierce melee, 
hand to hand, that was going on upon the causeway beyond. 

This narrow passage was now crowded, and a conflict, no less 
confused than desperate, followed their encounter. Some of the 
working party, snatching up their guns, delivered a single fire 
and then fled. Two of Lee's dragoons fell dead at the mouth 
of the howitzer, and several were badly wounded. Still the 
others remained unhurt. Coates, with his ofiicers, covered by 
a wagon, opposed them with their swords, while the British 

26. What was the condition of the pursuers V 27. Who led the front section of the 
American force? 28. "What was done by this officer? 29. By what other officers wag 
hf followed ? 80. Did their men succeed in croasing the bridge? 



EXPEDITION TO THE LOW COUNTRY. 323 

infantry hurried forward to find an opening in which they might 
display. 

Lee meanwhile had arrived, and was engaged with Maham 
and Dr. Irving, his surgeon, in repairing the bridge, so as to 
enable the rest of his force to cross to the relief of the few brave 
men who had effected the passage, while yet the planks remained 
upon the sleepers. 

At this moment, Armstrong and M'Cauley discovered them- 
selves to be alone. Their men had failed to cross the bridge 
while the passage was available, and, of the few by whom they 
had been followed, but a single soldier remained. Coates and 
his officers occupied the causeway, protected by a wagon in 
front, and, until the plank which he had succeeded in casting 
from the sleepers could be restored, they could hope for no as- 
sistance from their countrymen. Had they been promptly fol- 
lowed, the enemy might have been cut in pieces. Now, they 
beheld nothing but the seeming certainty of their own fate. 

The resolution of these brave men, in this predicament, was 
equally prompt and decided with that which had involved them 
in it. They knew that they should be safe from the fire of the 
enemy in front, as long as Coates and his officers were in the 
rear ; and boldly urging their way through the confused bodies 
still flying along the causeway, they rapidly passed over it, 
gained the woods, and, wheeling to the left, escaped without 
hurt, within the shelter of the forest. 

Colonel Coates, having succeeded in throwing the plank from 
the bridge, and thus briefly delaying the advance of the cavalry, 
retired to the Shubrick plantation adjoining, and took post un- 
der cover of its numerous buildings. 

At three o'clock, the detachment of Sumter reached the 
ground. He found the enemy drawn up and ready to receive 
him. As the American force consisted chiefly of riflemen and 
cavalry, and very few had bayonets, it would have been mad- 
ness to advance directly to the attack. The precedent of 
King's Mountain furnished the partisan with his order of battle. 

81. Finding themselves at length alone, how did they escape from tlieir dangerous 
situation? 32. Whither did Colonel Coates retire? 83. By whom was he here en- 
countered ? 



324 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

His own brigade, led by Colonels Middleton, Polk, Taylor, and 
Lacy, were ordered to reach and occupy a line of negro houses. 

Marion's brigade, at that time, very much reduced, was 
thrown into two divisions, and ordered to advance on the right 
of the enemy, having no shelter but fences, and these within 
short gunshot of the house which the British occupied. 

The several parties moved to the attack with alacrity. Sum- 
ter's brigade soon gained the negro houses in their front, and 
from these directed their rifles with great effect. Colonel 
Thomas Taylor, with a small command of forty-five men, 
pressed forward to the fences of the enemy's left, from whence 
he delivered his fire. This drew upon him the British bayo- 
net, which compelled his retreat. 

Marion's men, as they beheld this, with the coolness and in- 
trepidity of veterans, rushing through a galling fire, extricated 
Taylor, and, from the imperfect covering of the fences, contin- 
ued the fight until not a charge of ammunition remained among 
them. All who fell in the action were of Marion's command. 

The British maintained their defence from within the houses, 
and from a picketed garden, till the sun was down. The Ameri- 
cans were then drawn off, after a conflict of three hours, in which 
they lost forty men, killed and wounded. The British loss was 
seventy killed ; their force nearly doubled that of the Ameri- 
cans, and were chiefly composed of Irish troops, but for whose 
inexperience in the use of firearms, the loss of Marion's men 
must have been infinitely greater than it was. Sumter was 
compelled to forego any farther attempts upon his foe, as, at 
the close of the engagement, there was not a single charge of 
powder among his men. 

The British lost, in the several engagements, apart from the 
slain and wounded, the numbers of whom could never be accu- 
rately known, nearly two hundred prisoners, including nine 
commissioned officers, a large quantity of valuable stores, wag- 
ons, and horses, and — a prize no less rare than valuable in the 

34. What colonels were under Sumter's command ? 35. What of Marion's brigade? 
86. What of Colonel Taylor and his command ? S7. How was he extricated ? 38. What 
was the American loss V 39. What the British ? 40. What the relative force engaged ? 
41. Why was Sumter compelled to abandon the attack ? 42. What losses did tho 
British meet with in tlie several ongaficements? 



EXPEDITION TO THE LOW COUNTRY. 325 

eyes of the starving Americans — seven hundred and twenty- 
guineas, taken in the paymaster's chest, with the baggage at 
Quinby bridge. 

The expedition of Sumter, though not as successful as it 
might have been — for Coates's whole force might have been 
captured — was of the highest service, as it inspired the coun- 
try with a wholesome confidence in its native valor. The troops 
actually engaged in the attack on Colonel Coates, were almost 
exclusively South Carolina militia, and they displayed, with 
the vivacious audacity of the partisan, the firm, collected reso- 
lution of the drilled veteran. 

Marion's men amply demonstrated, when they brought off 
Taylor's division from the British bayonet, under the heaviest 
fire from their pickets, that nothing was wanting but military 
constancy, and the weapons of soldiers, to meet the best ap- 
pointed troops of Europe. 

43. What was the elTect of Sumter's expedition on the country? 44. What is said 
of Marion's men ? 



326 HISTORY OP SOUTH CAROLINA, 



CHAPTER XII. 

RESTORATION OF CIVIL AUTHORITY EXECUTION OF HAYNE. 

These events, while they led to tlie concentration of the 
British forces, allowed a breathing spell to the Americans. 
Greene had retired to the High-hills of Santee, where the condi- 
tion of his array, two-thirds of the men of which were sick, ren- 
dered repose absolutely necessary. But this repose did not 
imply idleness. To discipline his troops, no less than to restore 
the sick, was a leading object of the commander. His mind 
was occupied with the necessity of grappling, on better terms 
of equality, with the two able British generals with whom he 
had already tried his strength. 

To drive Rawdon to Charlestown, and confine him within the 
limits of that city, under the control of a respectable force, would 
enable him to turn his arms against Cornwallis, and detain or, 
at least, contribute to the detention, of that formidable com- 
mander in Virginia. Such was his desire ; but the business on 
his hands proved too various, and his resources too few, for its 
performance ; and, fortunately for the cause of American lib- 
erty, Cornwallis found other foes, too numerous for his safety 
or escape, in the state which he had invaded. 

While Greene lay at the Hills, Marion, with his brigade, 
traversed the Santee with a success and an activity that did 
not suffer diminution because of the intense heats of Aug-ust. 
He was still the same cautious but enterprising, bold, yet vigi- 
lant captain — always in motion, and always successful, that he 
had ever shown himself from the first. His contemporary, Sum- 
ter, at the same time, with no less activity, returned to the 
Ninety-Six district, where the sanguinary war of whig and tory 

1. Whither did Greene retire ? 2. What was the condition of his command ? 3. How 
was hie mind occupied ? 4. How was Marion occupied ? 5. How Sumter? 



RESTORATION OF CIVIL AUTHORITY. 827 

had been renewed among the inhabitants, with a ferocity com- 
mensurate to the forbearance which they had so long shown 
of necessity, and to that hatred which was not naturally the 
consequence of their adverse principles. 

With the lawlessness of professed banditti, the several parties 
ravaged the possessions of their opponents, sparing no plunder 
and hesitating at no crime. To suppress these parties, overawe 
discontents, and capture the ringleaders, gave full employment, 
for some time, to the arms of this active partisan. The wretches 
thus captured, would have been subjected to vindictive and 
summary justice, by the arm of martial law, but for the re-es- 
tablishment of civil power in the state, from which it had been 
withdrawn during the presence everywhere of the British forces. 

The return of Governor Rutledge to the state, and the res- 
toration of the regular authority, together with the arrival of a 
reinforcement of troops from North Carolina, contributed to 
strengthen Greene's army, and encourage him in the hope that 
he should be able to pursue his objects, and press the British 
downward to their sole stronghold in the city. The only ene- 
my of force before him, was Colonel Stewart, who *had been 
left by Lord Rawdon in command, at Orangeburg. Sumter's 
incursion into the low country had drawn his lordship with 
some precipitation down to Charlestown, where he only re- 
mained long enough to sully his military honors by numberless 
acts, equally sanguinary and shameful. 

The reverses of the British arms had embittered the temper 
of their leaders, and they seemed to think that, in deeds of cru- 
elty alone could they lessen the mortification of defeat. One 
of these deeds, as it has already received the general reproba- 
tion of the American world, and as it indicates the temper in 
which the invaders of Carolina treated and beheld her sons, 
should receive particular attention. This was the wanton exe- 
cution, without trial and against law, of a noble Carolinian, 
taken in arms against the enemy, and hung by the joint com- 

6. With what parties had the latter to deal, and what is said of them ? 7. What 
contributed to strengtlien and encourage Greene V 8. What enemy was before him? 
— and wliere was he in command? 9. What did Lord Eawdon in Cbarlestown? 
10. What deed of the British, and nnder whom executed, that has received the repro- 
bation of the American world ? 



328 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

mand of Lord Rawdon and Lieutenant- Colon el Balfour, who 
held the post of commandant of the city. 

Colonel Isaac Hayne was a planter of South Carolina, of 
good nurture and family, and highly esteemed among his coun- 
trymen for his amiable manners and unblemished character. 
During the siege of Charlestown, he commanded a troop of 
horse, and served his country, at the same time, as a senator in 
the state legislature. His corps of cavalry, which operated in 
the rear of the British army, and not within the city, did not 
share in the general captivity of the citizens in the fall of 
Charlestown, but was supposed to be included in its terms of 
capitulation. After that event, opposition, for a brief space, 
being overawed throughout the state, this little corps, like 
nearly every other of the same kind, was disbanded, and 
Hayne returned with his family to the privacy of his planta- 
tion. 

The British traversed the state, which was, at length, de- 
clared to be conquered ; and the complete defeat of Gates at 
Camden, almost made it so, for a time. A military government 
had been established over it immediately after the reduction of 
Charlestown, and successive commandants were appointed for 
the administration of its affairs, whose powers were left unde- 
fined, and were, indeed, dictatorial. 

Among these commandants, the most conspicuous was Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Balfour. He was a vain man, proud of his au- 
thority, and solicitous of its exercise — a sycophant to the great, 
and a tyrant to the humble. By the subversion of every trace 
of the popular government, without any proper civil establish- 
ment in its stead, he contrived, with the aid of a few coadju- 
tors, to concentrate in his own person all powers, whether legis- 
lative, judicial, or executive, and exercised over the citizens a 
like authority with that which he possessed over the military. 
For the slightest offences, and on pretexts the most idle and in- 
sufficient, they were imprisoned in places the most loathsome. 
Some were incarcerated in the vaults beneath the Exchange, 

n. Who was Colonel Isaac Hayne ? 12. What troops did be command ? — and in 
what other way did he serve his country? 13. What kind of government was exer.. 
cised over the state at the time ? 14. Who was Colonel Balfour ? 



EXECUTION OF HAYNE. 329 

tlien termed the provost ; some Avere hurried on board the 
prison-ships, denied to see their friends and families, and de- 
prived not only of their accustomed comforts, but of those 
necessaries which health and decency equally demanded. 

The fortune of war had thrown nearly five thousand of the 
Carolina troops into the hands of the British, and these were 
made to endure all the evils and hardships which it was in the 
power of vain insolence, malignant hostility, blind prejudice, or 
the accustomed arrogance of British officers toward their colo- 
nial dependents, or captives, to display. Under a policy no less 
short-sighted than inhuman, which so generally marked the pro- 
ceedings of the British commanders in America, they deter- 
mined to break the spirit of the people to the will of their sov- 
ereign, and enforce, at the point of the sword, submission to 
their exactions. 

Instead of seeking, by measures of judicious indulgence, to 
beguile the Carolinians from those principles which had pro- 
duced their disaffection to the royal authority — a course which 
might have had the desired effect, when we regard the closer 
sympathies which had distinguished the Americans of the south- 
ern colonies, and particularly South Carolina, with the mother- 
country, and the absence of any of those rival interests which 
lay at the foundation of the quarrel between England and the 
northern colonies — the unwise representatives of British do- 
minion in Carolina, clothed in a little brief authority, to which 
their conduct proves them to have been unaccustomed, exasper- 
ated the people by their insolence, and provoked them to despera- 
tion by their unnecessary annoyances and injuries. Consider- 
infic the whole state as subdued and freed from the M'holesome 
fear of retribution, which might have induced them to pause in 
their progress of injustice, they, soon after the reduction of 
Charlestown, began to act toward the inhabitants as rebels out of 
the pale of all indulgence, and only to be brought back to their 
duty by the scourge and sabre. Nor did they content themselves 
with administering to the supposed offenders the penalties of 
treason with their own hands. The bloody conflicts between the 

15. What course did he pursue toward the inhabitants and prisoners ? 16. What 
error did the British officers commit ? 



330 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

whigs and tories, which had-begun in 1775, were renewed ; and, 
under British sanction and encouragement, the monstrous cruel- 
ties and crimes which distinguished that fratricidal warfare from 
1775 to 1780, had become faint impressions to those which fol- 
lowed that period. 

No language can do justice to, and visit with proper execra- 
tion, the doings of that dismal civil war, which desolated the 
fair fields of Carolina, and deluged her dwellings with the tears 
and blood of her children. The ties of nature, of society, of neigh- 
borhood, were torn apart and trampled. Friendships and fellow- 
ships were sundered with the sword. Father and son stood Avith 
confronting weapons in opposite ranks, and brothers grappled in 
the gladiatorial embrace of the savage, goaded to constant strife 
by the shouts and rewards of the British conqueror. Under their 
favoring countenance, people of the worst character emerged 
from their hiding-places in the swamp ; men of all sorts of 
crimes ; thieves and murderers ; blood-painted and gallows- 
branded wretches, who needed but the halloo of the savage 
huntsman to spring upon the track of the unhappy fugitive. 
Hundreds of refugees from Florida hounded at their heels. 
These drove the patriots from their hiding-places and country, 
ravaged their possessions, burnt their dwellings, abused their 
women, slew their children, and converted the sweetest homes 
of happiness into places of sorrow or the most savage solitude. 
In the single district of Ninety-Six, there were no less than 
fourteen hundred widows and orphans made by this savage 
warfare. 

There was but one mode left for safety to those unhappy Car- 
olinians, who, still devoted to their country's liberties, were yet 
liable to be torn and tortured through the bosom of their ex- 
posed and suffering families. This was to accept of the protec- 
tion of British power against the aggravated excesses of their 
own infatuated countrymen. This protection was granted only 
to those who claimed it as British subjects. 

To this wretched necessity. Colonel Hayne was soon reduced. 
A mean artifice of a British officer seduced him from his plan- 

17. What is said of the effects of that civil war ? 18. What mode was left for safety 
to the patriots ? 19. Who, among others, was reduced to this necessity ? 



EXECUTION OF HAYNE. 331 

tatiou to the city, where he was closely imprisoned, and ob- 
tained his release from this duress, at the call of a dying wife 
and children, only by subscribing a declaration to the British 
crown. This he did, though not without expressly excepting 
to that clause which required him with his arms to support the 
royal government. His exception was replied to in language 
which might have soothed most minds, though, perhaps, it 
should not, strictly speaking, have satisfied any. He was verbally 
assured that such services would never be required at his hands. 

" When the regular forces of his majesty," were the words of 
the British officers, " need the aid of the inhabitants for the de- 
fence of the province, it will be high time for them to leave it." 
But they required this aid much sooner than they imagined. 

The approach of Greene with his continentals — the sudden 
uprising, almost at the same moment, of Marion, Sumter, 
Hampton, Davie, Harden, and a hundred other fearless parti- 
sans — their strange successes — their rapid movements, whether 
in assault or retreat — the partial defeat of Cornwallis — his 
flight to Virginia, and those crowding necessities which drove 
his successor, Lord Rawdon, from Camden to the seaboard — 
exasperated the passions of the British as much as they alarmed 
their fears. 

Hayne, having made his peace with the British government 
on the only terms which they would admit, had scarcely re- 
turned to his plantation, where he received the last breath of a 
dying wife, and buried a second of his children, when he was 
peremptorily required to join the British standard. 

His resolution was that of the patriot. Forced to draw the 
sword, he drew it in behalf of his country. He repaired to the 
American camp, recruited his troop, and commenced a career 
which was destined to be as short as it was spirited. By a sud- 
den dash, which he made upon the quarter-house, an outpost of 
the enemy in the immediate neighborhood of Charlestown, he 
succeeded in making General Williamson a prisoner. 

20. How was he seduced from his plantation ? — and how was he released ? 21. To 
what clause did he except in the declaration of allegiance ? 22. How was he replied 
to? 23. What were the words of the British ofBcers? 2-1. What were the events Avhich 
exasperated and alarmed the British ? 25. What farther of Colonel Hayne ? 26. Whom 
did he make prisoner? 



332 HISTORY OP SOUTH CAROLINA. 

This man was a traitor to the state, and his life was forfeited 
to the gallows. To rescue him from this probable fate, the Brit- 
ish commandant in Charlestown ordered out his whole cavalry, 
which succeeded in overtaking the party of Hayne, dispersed it, 
and rescued Williamson. Colonel Hayne, unfortunately, fell 
also into their hands. 

He was carried to Charlestown, and kept in close custody 
until Rawdon, leaving Stewart at Orangeburg, arrived in the 
city. He was then brought before a court of inquiry. The 
members of the court upon this examination were not sworn, 
nor were the witnesses ; yet, in consequence of this examina- 
tion, *' Lord Rawdon and the commandant, Lieutenant-Colonel 
Nesbitt Balfour, resolved upon his execution, for having been 
found under arms, and employed in raising a regiment to oppose 
the British government, though he had become a subject, and 
accepted the protection of that government after the reduction 
of Charlestown." 

Such were the terms and reasons for this sentence, which was 
ordered to be carried into effect two days after. This sudden, 
unlooked for, and unjust sentence, was equally unexpected by 
the prisoner himself and by the citizens. It was not supposed 
that a mere court of inquiry could be resolved into one of final 
trial and condemnation. The men of the city pleaded in his 
behalf, the women petitioned in person, and implored on bended 
knees for remission of the sentence ; but Rawdon and Balfour 
w^ere inexorable. 

The hurts of vanity, the disappointments of ambition, the de- 
feat of all their plans of conquest, and the constant advance and 
frequent successes of the victorious Americans, made them vin- 
dictive and merciless. Perhaps, too — though this is not suf- 
fered to appear in the proceedings — Hayne was only a chosen 
sacrifice to the manes of Major Andre. Balfour endorsed one 
of the petitions, offered in behalf of Hayne, with the two words, 
" Major Andre." The unhappy man was less moved than his 
fellow-citizens and friends. He saw and conversed with them 

27. What of Williamson? 2S. How was Williamson rescued ? 29. Who was taken 
prisoner ? 80. What sort of trial had Colonel Hayne ? 81. Who resolved upon his 
execution ? 82. When was it ordered to take place ? 83. Who pleaded in his behalf? 



EXECUTION OF HAYNE. 833 

with Christian cheerfuhiess, and the resolute bearing of the sol- 
dier. To a friend, the evening before his death, he declared 
himself to be " no more alarmed at the thoughts of death than 
at any other occurrence which was necessary and unavoidable." 
He requested the existing authorities to accommodate the mode 
of his execution to a soldier's feelings ; but this was denied him. 

The proceedings in his case were obviously parallel to those of 
Andre. Attended by thousands of spectators, gloomy and sad 
as by an impending calamity to themselves, he walked to the 
place of doom. His carriage was firm, manly, and unostenta- 
tious. To his eldest son, a boy about thirteen years of age, on 
the morning of the fatal day, he delivered all the papers which 
were connected with his fate, and gave his final instructions as 
to the disposition of his remains. Ascending the fatal eminence 
of death, he parted from his friends with the simple assurance 
that he would endeavor to show them "how an American should 
die ;" and, with that unshaken resolution which had distin- 
guished his deportment throughout the painful scene, he himself 
gave the signal which hurried him into eternity. He died in a 
manner becoming the martyr to his country's freedom. His 
heroism in death, extorted from liis enemies the confession that 
" if he did not die in a good cause, he must, at least, have acted 
from a persuasion of its being so." 

The execution of such a man as Colonel Hayne, under such 
circumstances, and with so little show of justice, was not an event 
to escape the consideration of the American general, or to pass 
from the memories of the Carolinians. Unsatisfied by the ex- 
planations that were offered by the British commander, Greene 
declared his purpose of retaliation on all such British officers 
as should fall into his hands — a declaration which was induced 
by the voluntary self-devotion of all the officers of the southern 
army. These brave men met together and addressed to him a 
memorial, in which, after declaring what had reached their ears 
of the enormous cruelties practised by the British, and of the 
bloody execution which has just been recorded, they recom- 
mend measures of immediate retaliation by a similar treatment 

84. Describe the execution. 35. What did Greene declare to be his purpose ? — and 
why ? 86. How was this declaration induced ? 



334 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

of all British subjects — avowing their perfect readiness to 
abide by a recommendation which, in the event of capture, at 
once placed themselves entirely without the pale of mercy from 
the enemy. 

" But," concludes this noble document, " we had rather com- 
mit ourselves to the most desperate situations than prosecute 
this just and necessary war upon terms so dishonorable." 

Fortunately for the cause of humanity, but a little time elapsed 
after this when the policy of the war rendered unnecessary the 
adoption of such rigorous measures. Still the American gen- 
eral wore the countenance of one who was inflexible in his de- 
termination. A very few days after the execution of Hayne, 
Marion's cavalry captured three British officers with an enemy's 
party ; and the affair of the Eutaw, which will be recorded in 
the next chapter, placed in the hands of Greene a prisoner suf- 
ficiently distinguished to awaken all the apprehensions of Bal- 
four for his safety. 

87. With what words did the memorial of the oflScers conclude? 



BATTLE OF EUTAW. 335 



CHAPTER XIII. 

BATTLE OF EUTAW. 

Colonel Stewart, whom Lord Rawden had left in charge 
of the British army, had been watched by the American general 
with intense anxiety. In command of nearly three thousand 
troops, he was too strong to apprehend any assault from a force 
so poorly provided, and so feeble in most respects, as that of the 
Americans ; and, but for discontents among his men, and the 
great fatigue to which his new Irish regiments had been sub- 
jected before reaching him, he would have been in good condi- 
tion to turn upon the steps of Greene. 

Some weeks elapsed, however, before Stewart was ready for 
a movement of any kind, and during this time the American 
general was held in suspense as to his future objects. Not 
doubting, however, that the necessity of providing for his army 
would carry his adversary to the banks either of the Congaree 
or Santee, measures were taken for the removal of all the pro- 
visions upon the northern side of both these rivers. This meas- 
ure was chiefly executed by the brigade of Marion. This pro- 
ceeding necessarily increased the resources of the American, 
while diminishing those of the British army. 

When Stewart moved, he took post amidst the hills near the 
confluence of the Wateree and Congaree. Here the two armies 
lay in sight of each other's fires ; but the heat of the weather 
precluded operations of any kind, and, as if by mutual consent, 
their swords remained undrawn in their scabbards for a season. 
The intervention of two large rivers secured them equally from 

1. Who had been left by Lord Eawdon in command of the British army? 2. What 
was the number of Colonel Stewart's troops ? 3. What prevented him from imme- 
diately attacking General Greene ? 4. What measures were taken by the Americans 
for diminishing the resources of the enemy Y 5. When Colonel Stewart moved, where 
did he take post ? 



336 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

sudden attack, and their labors were confined to the watching 
of each other's movements, to the capturing of convoys, and the 
conquest of detachments and foraging parties. In fliis service, 
the Americans soon proved their superior activity. 

Greene, speaking of his cavah'y in these expeditions, asserts 
them to be unexcelled by any in the world. Washington was 
detached down the country, across the Santee, and soon made 
himself felt in the capture of two bodies of the enemy's horse. 
Lee, crossing the Congaree with his cavalry, penetrated between 
the main body of the British army and the post at Orangeburg, 
and, in sight of the latter place, drove in, dispersed, and captured 
several of their detachments. No inequality of numbers seems, 
at this time, to have impaired the confidence of our partisans in 
themselves, or lessened their courage ; and such was their auda- 
city, that the enemy was compelled to send out large detach- 
ments from his main body for the protection of his convoys. 
For every wagon load of provisions, he paid the price in 
blood. 

Equally active with these officers were Marion, Maham, and 
Harden, in covering the country below. The embarrassments 
produced by these united operations, the great difficulty of pro- 
curing provisions, and the necessity of lessening his main army, 
to strengthen his posts below, in order to cover his communica- 
tions between Orangeburg and Charlestown, rendered the posi- 
tion of the British commander particularly uncomfortable. 

A movement of Greene, and the concentration of most of the 
detachments of the Americans, at a general rendezvous, deter- 
mined the movements of Colonel Stewart. Falling back upon 
his reinforcements and convoys, he took post, forty miles from 
his late position, at the Eutarw springs. 

He was followed by Colonel Lee, who was pushed forward to 
watch his movements, while General Pickens, with the state 
militia, advanced with a similar object, in the neighborhood of 

6. In what service were the American cavalry unrivalled ? 7. What was done by 
Colonel Washington ? 8. What was achieved by Colonel Lee ? 9. What other 
oflacers were equally active in covering the country below? 10. How was the 
position of the British commander rendered particularly uncomfortable ? 11. What 
circumstance determined his movements V 12. Where did Colonel Stewart take post, 
and by whom was h© followed ? 



BATTLE OP EUTAW. 337 

the enemy's post at Orangeburg. The main army of the Amer- 
icans, meanwhile, crossed the Congaree, moving slowly down 
the south bank, toward the post at Motte's, where Greene, hav- 
ing resolved upon a discontinuance of the pursuit, determined 
to await the progress of events. 

This resolution, as it seemed to indicate a want of confidence 
in the American commander, encouraged the British. Halting 
upon his ground at Eutaw, Stewart prepared to meet and fight 
his enemy. Withdrawing the garrison from Orangeburg (which 
he established at Fairlawn), he called in to his aid that which 
had been maintained at the latter post as a foil to Marion. This 
movement he was enabled to make in consequence of the disap- 
pearance of the " Swamp Fox," who, in one of his secret expe- 
ditions, had rapidly crossed the country to Pon Pon, where 
Colonel Harden was closely pressed by a British force of five 
hundred men. 

To pass through both lines of the British communication with 
Charlestown ; to surprise, defeat, and disperse this force, under 
Major Fraser, numerically superior to his own ; to return by 
the same route, pass the Santee, put his prisoners in safety, then 
advance upon the. Eutaw, in order to a closer co-operation with 
the army under Greene ; was but the work of a few days and 
of ordinary labor, with this able warrior. The junction of 
Marion with Greene, preceded by a brief interval of time the 
advance of the American commander upon the foe. 

The memorable battle of Eutaw Springs was fought on the 
eighth of September, 1781. The number of the Americans, 
rank and file, was about two thousand. That of the British was 
something more than two thousand three hundred. The day 
wa,s fair, and intensely hot ; but the battle opened in a wood, 
the shade of which afforded some relief to the combatants. 

At four o'clock in the morning, the American army moved 
in four columns from its bivouac. The state troops of South 
Carolina, with Lee's legion, formed the advance, under com- 

13. Wh-at movement was made by the main body of the Americans? 14. What was 
done in the meantime by Marion ? 15. When was fought the memorable battle of 
Eutaw Springs ? 16. What was the number of the Americans ? 17. What number 
of men had the British ? 18. Where and when did the battle commence ? 19. What 
Iroana formed the advance of [he Americans? 

15 



338 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

mand of Colonel Henderson. The militia of South and North 
Carolina, under Marion, followed next. Then came the regu- 
lars, under General Sumner. The rear was closed by Wash- 
ington's cavalry, and Kirkwood's Delawares, under Colonel 
Washington. 

So completely had the detached parties of the Americans cut 
off those of the British, that the advance of their army was un- 
suspected. The only patrol had been captured during the night ; 
and so entirely secure did Stewart esteem himself in his position, 
that an unarmed party of an hundred men had been sent out to 
gather sweet potatoes. 

Two deserters from Greene's army conveyed to the British 
commander the first intelligence of the approach of the Amer- 
icans, and Captain Coffin, at the head of his cavalry, was sent 
out, as well to recall the potato " rooting party," as to reconnoi- 
tre the Americans and cover the party. The American advance, 
when encountered, was immediately charged by Coffin, with a 
confidence which showed his ignorance of its strength, and of 
the greater force of which it was the precursor. He was re- 
pulsed ; the firing alarmed the potato-diggers, who all fell into 
the hands of the Americans. 

In the meantime, Stewart pushed forward a detachment of 
infantry, to keep the Americans employed while he prepared 
for battle. But Greene, persuaded by the audacity of Coffin 
that the whole British force was at hand, proceeded to form 
where the encounter took place. 

The column of militia, when displayed, formed the first line ; 
the South Carolinians in equal divisions on the right and left, 
and the North Carolinians in the centre. Marion commanded 
the right, Pickens the left, and Colonel Malmedy the centre. 

Henderson, with the state troops, including Sumter's brigade, 
covered the left of this line, and Lee, with his legion, the right. 
The column of regulars also displayed in one line. The North 

20. Which followed next? 21. What officer commanded the regulars? 22. How 
was the rear closed? 23. How were the British prevented from gaining information 
of their approach ? 24. What party first fell into the hands of the Americans ? 25. 
When the battle M'as formed, what officers commanded the militia of North and 
South Carolina ? 26. How was the left of this line covered ? 27. How the right ? 28. 
By what officers were the regulars commanded ? 



BATTLE OF EUTAW. 339 

Carolinians, under General Sumner, occupied the right ; the 
Marylanders, under Colonel Williams, the left ; the Virginians, 
the centre, under Colonel Campbell. The artillery, consisting 
of four pieces, was equally distributed with the two lines. 
Washington's cavalry, under cover of the woods, formed the 
reserve. In this order the Americans advanced to the battle. 

When the first line reached the advances parties of the Brit- 
ish, it was ordered to move on in order, driving them before it. 
In this manner, firing as it advanced, it went resolutely for- 
ward, while the enemy sunk back and found shelter in their own 
line. 

About two hundred rods west of the Eutaw springs, the Brit- 
ish army was drawn up in a single line, extending from the 
Eutaw creek beyond the main Congaree road. The creek cov- 
ered their right ; the left was supported by Coffin's cavalry and 
detachment of infantry, held in reserve under cover of the wood. 
The ground on which the British army was displayed was alto- 
gether in wood ; but, at a small distance in their rear was a 
cleared field, extending west, south, and east from the dwelling- 
house, and bounded north by the creek flowing from the 
springs. 

This creek is a bold one, having a high bank, thickly bordered 
with brush and undergrowth. From the house to this bank ran 
a garden inclosed with palisadoes, and the windows of the house, 
which was two stories high, with garret rooms, commanded the 
whole surrounding fields. The house was strongly built of 
brick, and surrounded with various offices of wood, one of which, 
a barn of some size, lay to the southeast, a small distance from 
the principal building. 

The Americans approached from the west. Their large 
superiority in cavalry made the house a point of great importance 
to the British commander, who gave orders to Major Sheridan 
to occupy it at the first symptom of defeat, and to cover the 
army from the upper windows. 

29. What artillery had the Americans ? 30. What officer commanded the cavalry 
in reserve ? 81. Where was the British army drawn up ? 82. How were they pro- 
tected? 33. What was in their rear? 34. How was the garden situated? 35. 
Describe the house ? 36. What orders were given respecting it by the British com* 
mander ? 



840 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

On the right he had made a hke cautious provision. Major 
Marjoribanks was posted in the thicket bordering the creek, with 
three hundred picked troops, to watch the flank of the Amer- 
icans, sliould it be opened at any time to attack. The British 
artillery was posted in the -main road. 

The disappearance of the skirmishing parties from the main 
opposing bodies, was the signal for a desperate and steady con- 
flict. The militia of the first American line rushed with shouts 
into the hottest of the enemy's fire, even after their artillery had 
been demolished. Their valor and unflinching perseverance 
amidst the continual falling of their comrades around them, was 
the admiration of both armies. They did not falter until it was 
impossible for human courage longer to continue a conflict which 
human wisdom could no longer approve. They had fired seven- 
teen rounds before they hesitated, and were then succored by 
the North Carolinians, under General Sumner. 

With the appearance of Sumner's relief. Colonel Stewart 
brought up the infantry of his reserve into line on his left, and 
the struggle between these fresh troops began with renewed 
fury. At length Sumner's brigade, after sustaining the conflict 
with numbers far superior to their own, fell back also. 

Elated at this result, and conceiving the victory to be now 
sure, the British rushed forward in pursuit, and their line became 
deranged in consequence. 

At this important crisis, the American commander issued his 
orders to Colonel Williams, who remained in command of the 
second line, to advance and sweep the field with his bayonets. 
This order was promptly obeyed ; the two brigades received it 
with a shout, and advanced with a degree of impatience which 
scarcely heeded the deliberate and measured guidance of their 
ofiicers. When within forty yards of the enemy, the Virginians 
of the line delivered a destructive fire, and the whole body, with 
trailed arms, rushed forward to the charge, through showers of 



37. What provision had he made on tlie right? 38. How was the British artillery 
posted? 39. What was the signal for a desperate conflict? 40. What is said of the 
militia of the first American line? 41. What did Sumner's brigade? 42. With what 
effect on the enemy ? 43. What order was given by the American commander, at 
this crisis ? 



BATTLE OF EUTAW. 341 

grape from the British artillery, and seemingly unmoved by the 
stream of fire that blazed incessantly before them. 

The advanced left of the enemy recoiled beneath the desperate 
resolution of this charge. Their disorder became visible, and 
was confirmed by the prompt movement of Colonel Lee. Wheel- 
ing the legion infantry round from its position on the extreme 
right, he poured in upon the British left a close enfilading fire, 
and their confusion became irretrievable. 

The centre and right of the British army still remained much 
more numerous than the American, and awaited the threatened 
charge with a constancy that seemed unshaken. But the dis- 
order and flight of the left had its effect upon the other divisions 
of the army ; and the pressure of the fugitives from the left upon 
the centre, imparted a portion of their panic to the rest of their 
companions. The advance of the Marylanders, at this lucky 
moment, helped to increase the confusion of the foe. The former 
delivered their fire with deliberation and fatal effect, and along 
their whole front the enemy yielded. 

Completely triumphant, as they now supposed themselves, the 
Americans pressed forward to prevent the British from rallying, 
and to cut them off from the brick house, to which the fugitives 
naturally turned their eyes. Successful in this, the victory would 
have been complete. The great loss which the enemy had sus- 
tained must have compelled his surrender, unless he could 
secure this shelter, which was now his object. It was in striving 
to defeat this object that the Americans sustained their greatest 
loss ; and the affair which so far had promised a glorious vic- 
tory, ended in the complete disappointment of the conquering 
army, and the temporary defeat of its proudest hopes. 

At this stage of the battle, Marjoribanks still stood firm in 
the thickets which covered him. General Greene saw that he 
must be dislodged from a position which would soon enable him 

44. How was this order executed ? 45. What was the effect x>n the British ? 
46. What confirmed tlieir disorder? 47. Which part of the enemy's line first gave 
way ? 48. What eff'ect was produced by their disorder and flight upon the other 
divisions of tlie army V 49. What was the effect of the advance of the Marylanders ? 
50. Believing themf Ives to be now completely triumphant, to what did the Amer- 
icans direct their efforts ? 51. Could they have attained this object, what must the 
British have been compelled to do? 52. How did the Americans meet with their 
greatest loss ? 



342 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

to renew the fight with disadvantage to the Americans. Colo- 
nel Washington, with his cavalry, was despatched to this duty ; 
but, on attempting a charge, he found that he could not pene- 
trate the thicket with his horse. An attempt to gain the ene- 
my's rear, brought upon him a destructive fire, which slew many 
of his men and horses, and drove the rest in confusion. 

He was succeeded by Colonel Hampton ; and Kirkwood's 
infantry, with their bayonets, rushing, at the same time, to re- 
venge their companions, succeeded in expelling th^ British 
from this strong position. But Marjoribanks retired slowly, 
still holding on to the thickets, and making for a new position, 
of nearly equal strength, behind the palisadoes of the garden. 

Here the British army had partly rallied, though nothing 
could well exceed the alarm in their encampment. Everything 
was given up for lost. The commissaries destroyed their stores ; 
the numerous retainers of the army, mostly loyalists and de- 
serters, who dreaded falling into the hands of the Americans, 
seizing the horses wherever they might be found, fled in terror, 
carrying consternation where they went, even down to the gates 
of Charlestown. 

Their alarm might not have been groundless, had it not been 
for the misfortunes of the Americans, in the losses of Washing- 
ton's cavalry, and the rash pursuit, by the infantry, of the dis- 
ordered British. So severely had Washington's command suf- 
fered in the affair with Marjoribanks, that but two of his officers 
could return into the action. The colonel, himself, had his horse 
shot under him, and owed his life to the clemency of a British 
officer. 

By the time that Marjoribanks had gained the palisadoes, 
Sheridan had thrown himself into the house, and some of the 
routed companies from the British left, had made good their 
retreat into the picketed garden, from the intervals of which 
they could fire with security and effect. 

53. On what duty was Colonel Washington despatched ? 54. With what success did 
he attempt thffe? 55. Vvlio succeeded in expelling the British from their strong posi- 
tion ? 56. Whither did Marjoribanks retire ? 57. What is said of the alarm, at this 
time, in the British encampment ? 5S. What was now the state of Washington's com- 
mand ? 59. By the time that Marjoribanks had gained the palisadoes, what had been 
done by Major Sheridan, and by some of the routed companies? 



BATTLE OP EUTAW. 84S 

The whole British line was now in full flight before the 
American bayonet. Their retreat lay directly through their own 
encampment, where their tents were all standing, and a thousand 
objects scattered around in grateful profusion, which, to the fam- 
ished troops of Greene, were too tempting to be withstood. 

Fatigued, and almost naked, panting with heat, and suffering 
from thirst — at the same time believing their victory to be se- 
cure — the pursuing Americans fell into acts of insubordination, 
to which the fire of the British from the contiguous houses em- 
inently contributed. The shelter of the tents, from this fire, 
became an excuse, of which these brave men did not scruple to 
avail themselves. And here happened one of those miserable 
reverses which so often baffle equallj^ the calculations of vv^isdom 
and the deeds of valor. Here the American line got into irre- 
trievable confusion. Its officers, nearly abandoned by their 
soldiers, became conspicuous marks for the British party, who 
now poured their fire from the windows of the house. In vain 
did they seek to rescue their men from the baneful consequences 
which had followed their entrance into the encampment. They 
had dispersed without order among the tents, had fastened up- 
on the intoxicating liquors, and had now become utterly unman- 
ageable. 

The British officers availed themselves promptly of this mis- 
erable condition of things. Marjoribanks and Coffin made sim- 
ultaneous movements ; the one, from his thicket, on the left ; 
the other, from the wood, on the right of the American line. 
Greene soon saw the dangers which threatened him, and issued 
orders to Lee, of the legion, to fall upon Coffin. In the absence 
of Lee, who had probably disappeared in pursuit of fugitives, 
Major Eggleston, with a detachment of the legion cavalry, pro- 
ceeded to obey, but was repulsed by Coffin, who immediately 
after hastened to charge the rear of the Americans, now dis- 
persed among the tents. 

Here, however, he encountered Hampton, and, by him, was 
successfully charged and beaten in turn. A sharp fight resulted 

60. In what direction did the British line retreat? 61. How did their pursuers fall 
into confusion ? 62. What excuse can be made for their insubordination ? 63. What 
af^vantage was taken by the British of this state of things? 64. What oflScers opposed 
this movement V 



844 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

in Coffin's retiring from the conflict. A moment after, the com- 
mand of Hampton was almost annihilated bj a fire from the 
picketed garden, where Marjoribanks / had concealed himself. 
This skilful officer, to whom the British army chiefly owed its 
safety, having scattered the cavalry of Hampton, proceeded to 
the performance of another movement, which was decisive of 
the strife. 

The British artillery, which had been captured by the Amer- 
icans, had been brought up and opened upon the brick house, 
where the enemy were strongly sheltered. Unfortunately, in 
the hurry of the fight, the pieces had been brought too near the 
house, and were commanded by its fire, which very soon killed 
or disabled all the artillerists. Marjoribanks, as soon as he had 
scattered the cavalry of Hampton, sallied into the field, re-cap- 
tured the pieces, and hurried ihem under cover. Then, being 
reinforced by parties from the liouse and garden, he charged 
the Americans, scattered among the tents, and drove them be- 
fore him. They found safety only in the cover of the wood, 
where the army of Greene had rallied ; and the British, too 
much crippled to venture into conflict beyond the shelter of the 
houses, slowly fell back upon their position. 

Thus ended the severe battle of the Eutaw, in which both 
parties claimed the honors of the victor. There is no difficulty 
in settling the question betw^een them. The British were driven 
from the field of battle at the edge of the bayonet, and took ref- 
uge in a fortress. So closely had they been pressed, and so 
narrow was their escape, that a forward party of the Americans 
were only prevented from entering with them by a precipitate 
closing of the doors in the face of some of their own officers and 
men, who were taken prisoners in consequence, and interposed 
by the captors as shields for the protection of their persons, 
while retreating under the mouths of the musketry which lined 
its windows. 

The Americans w^ere simply repulsed from a fortress to 

65. To whom was the British army chiefly indebted for its safety, on this memora- 
ble day ? 66. What was, at this time, the situation of the British artillery ? 67. What 
was achieved by Marjoribanks? 68. Where did General Greene's army rally? 
69. Why were they not pursued by the enemy ? 70. Which party claimed the victory 
In the battle of the Eutaw ? 71. Did the British remain masters of the field of battle ? 



BATTLE OF EUTAW. 345 

which they had driven their enemy in fiear and with great 
slaughter. That the Americans should have completed their 
victory by taking the house, is undeniable. This must have 
been the case, had they not yielded to the temptation presented 
to their wistful eyes by the unknown luxuries of a British en- 
campment. The spoils of the enemy proved more fatal to their 
virtue and, in consequence, to their victory, than his weapons 
had done to their lives. The reproach of losing a victory 
within their grasp, is greater than if they had suffered defeat. 
The last may be due to fortune, to unequal strength, to a thou- 
sand influences beyond the courage, the conduct, or the skill of 
man. The first can only arise from his wilfulness, his vices, or 
his misconduct. 

That the Americans fought well, and conquered while they 
fought, is undeniable ; that they did not complete their con- 
quest, is a reproach, painfully increased in its severity, by the ' 
reflection that their failure was followed by an unhappy loss 
of valuable lives, which, otherwise, might have united in the 
shout of triumph with the survivors. Among these victims 
was the gallant Colonel Campbell, who fell a moment before 
the final charge of the Americans which drove the British from 
the field at the point of the bayonet. The shouts of victory re- 
vived him in his dying moments. He demanded the cause of 
the shouting, and being told that the enemy was in full flight 
and utterly routed, exclaimed, with the holy satisfaction of the 
patriot soldier, " I die contented." These were his last v/ords. 

The battle of Eutaw is one over which hangs much confusion 
and doubt. The results are undoubtedly what we have given 
The details are subjects of considerable question. The parti- 
sans of the South were especially dissatisfied with the reports 
of the affair. That they did their duty well is undeniable. 
They make, however, an unfavorable report of the perform- 
ances of other parties of whom the official report speaks favor- 
ably. It is very certain that, in the management of the con- 
flict, there were many mistakes, if not much bungling. 

72. "What prevented the Americans from taking the house ? 73. What is a just sub- 
ject of repro.ich against them ? 74. What American oflBcer fell during the shouts of 
victory ? 75. Being told that the enemy were in full flight, and utterly routed, what 
did he exclaim ? 70. What is said of the battle of Eutaw ? 

15* 



846 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

MARION, PICKENS, MAHAM, SUMTER, CUNNINGHAM — THE 

"bloody scout" THE MOUNTAINEERS — DORCHESTER 

PROGRESS OF THE AMERICANS. 

In this severe engagement, the Americans made five hundred 
prisoners ; and, if farther proof were needed to establish their 
claim to victory, it was found in the events of the succeeding 
day. Colonel Stewart, leaving his dead unburied, and seventy 
of his wounded to the humanity of Greene, breaking the stocks 
of one thousand stand of arms, and destroying his stores, aban- 
doned his position, and retreated with precipitation before his 
enemy. 

The Americans advanced within five miles of him, to Fergu- 
son's swamp, where he made his first halt. It was Greene's 
intention to have renewed the action the next day; and he 
despatched Marion and Lee to watch the line of communication 
between the Eutaws and Fairlawn, where the British had a 
strong force, under Colonel M* Arthur, in order to prevent the 
junction of this body with the enemy's main army. The sim- 
ultaneous movements of the two corps, that of Stewart and 
M' Arthur, enabled them to meet at mid-distance, and to out- 
number the American detachment. By this movement, their 
junction was secured the evening of the day after the battle, 
and their retreat immediately continued. 

Greene pressed the pursuit during the whole of one day, but 
without success. The escape of Stewart was secured, for the 
time, and the American general was compelled to forego his 

1. How many prisoners were made by the Americans in the battle of EutaAV? 
2. What farther proof can you adduce to establish tlie claims of the Americans to the 
victory? 3. Wlicre did the British general make his first halt? 4. At what place had 
he another strong force V 5. How did General Greene endeavor to prevent the junc- 
tion of this body with the enemy's main army ? 6. How was his design defeated? 



PROGRESS OF THE AMERICANS. 347 

object, and yield his earliest attention tt> the prisoners and 
wounded in his hands. 

But, though Stewart succeeded in escaping from his pursuers, 
the British power in South Carolina was completely prostrated 
by the battle of Eutaw. He had lost in killed wounded, and 
missing, nearly one half of the force which he brought into ac- 
tion. The British regulars lost something more than this, in 
the failure of their charm of power — their reputed invincibility. 
Their regulars had been foiled with their own peculiar weapon, 
the bayonet ; and, perhaps, almost entirely owed their safety to 
the sharp shooting of loyal Americans, by whom their ranks 
were too much filled from the beginning ; and who, in almost 
all their victories, made a numerous and efficient part of their 
armies. By a very inferior force had they been driven from 
the field, and their courage fell in proportion to the daily in- 
crease of confidence in their own prowess, on the part of the 
Americans. Nothing seemed wanting to make the American 
soldiers as good as any in the world but a moderate length of 
practice, and frequent exercise in actual conflict. 

The losses of Greene had also been severe in a very great 
degree. His officers, in particular, had suffered dreadfully, 
chiefly in consequence of their exposure frorh the fire of the 
house, in their vain attempts to rescue the intoxicated soldiers 
from the British tents, and in the equally vain effort of the 
cavalry to force their way through a dense thicket, lined by 
British bayonets. Thin as the American regiments had ever 
been, they were always deficient in officers. In this bloody 
affair, no less than sixty-one had been killed and wounded. 
Twenty-one of these, including Colonel Campbell, had died 
upon the field of battle. 

The loss of British officers was, also, very severe, but less 
than that of their enemies. Major Marjoribanks, who had so 
highly distinguished himself during the day, died of fever, on 
the march to Charlestown. The spot where he lies buried is 
still shown upon the roadside. To the descendants of his ene- 

7. What effect had this battle on the British power in South Carolina ? 8. What 
loss had Colonel Stewart sustained? 9. To what did he owe his safety? 10. How 
many officers did General Greene lose? 11. What distinguished British officer died 
on the march to Charlestown ? 



348 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

mies lie is indebted for a tomb, covering his remains. The 
rest of the British wounded narrowly escaped capture by Mar- 
ion. This vigilant and ever-restless captain, understanding 
that they had been shipped at Fairlawn, for Charlestown, de- 
scended the country rapidly, by night, and would have inter- 
cepted them, but for a slave of one of the plantations, who gave 
intelligence of his movements to the British camp. This 
brought out a strong detachment against him, and he was com- 
pelled, in turn, to steal away and avoid interception. 

Returning from the pursuit of Stewart, Greene recrossed the 
Santee, and resumed his position at the Hills. Feeble as his 
army had ever been, it was now destined to become still more 
so. His militia soon left him. Of the North Carolinians, but 
one hundred remained, and their term of service was near ex- 
piring. 

Marion, Pickens, and Hampton, with the South Carolina 
militia, were necessarily detached to cover the country ; and, 
with the continentals alone, he had to discharge all the painful 
and fatiguing services required by six hundred wounded, half 
of whom were prisoners. 

Exposure in the swamps, at a sickly season of the year, had 
brought upon his army the diseases of the climate ; and, with- 
out medicine or comforts, of any kind, the whole camp exhib- 
ited a scene of the utmost misery and destitution. Numbers of 
brave fellows perished in a condition of wretchedness, only sur- 
passed by such as distinguished the plague-hospitals of the East. 
Ten days after the battle of Eutaw, the American general would 
have found it impossible to muster, at headquarters, a thousand 
men fit for action. 

Meanwhile, intelligence reached the South that CornwalHs 
contemplated a return from Virginia to Carolina by land. A 
movement of Colonel Stewart, about this time, seemed to con- 
firm the truth'of this intelligence. That officer, having recruited 
his army by all the available troops which he could gather from 

12. How did the rest of the wounded escape capture by Marion? 13. Eeturning 
from the pursuit of Stewart, where did Greene encamp ? 14. In what condition was 
his army? 15. Ten days after the battle of Eutaw, how many men, fit for action, 
could he have mustered? IG. What intelligence, in the meanwhile, reached the 
South? 17. What movement was made by Colonel Stewart? 



PROGRESS OF THE AMERICANS. 340 

below, and linving strengthened his cavalry until it became far 
superior to that of tlie Americans, once more advanced to the 
Eutaws. 

This movement served to drive the several American detach- 
ments of Marion and Hampton across the Santee; and, had the 
British continued their advance with vigor, it is not improbable, 
in the reduced and miserable condition of Greene's army, that 
they would have regained the ground, if not the influence, which 
they had lost in the late affair. 

But it was remarked that they no longer acted with their 
ancient vigor. They had lost the assurance of victory, which 
their first successes had inspired, and which had made them 
confident. They now exhibited a readiness to flee, on the first 
show of danger, as much like, and as little creditable, as that 
which had distinguished and disgraced the conduct of the Amer- 
ican militia when taking their first lessons in warfare. 

The audacity which they had lost seemed now to be the char- 
acteristic of the Americans. The detachments of the latter 
presented themselves before their strong holds, taunted them by 
the boldest daring, but failed to bring them forth. Maham, of 
Marion's brigade, while, at a subsequent period, the British lay 
at Monk's Corner, captured one of their posts, and took eighty 
prisoners, in the face of their whole army. 

The advance of the British to the Eutaws did not result, on 
their part, in any increase of vigor or activity. Its command 
had devolved upon a Major Doyle (afterward a general in the 
British service in India), during the illness of Colonel Stewart, 
who was suffering from a wound received at Eutaw. 

This officer took post at Fludd's plantation, three miles above 
Nelson's ferry. His army, recruited from the British and loy- 
alist forces in Charlestown, was still more than two thousand 
men, not including a body of three hundred, stationed at Fair- 
lawn, under Major M* Arthur. This force, so superior to that 
of Greene, gave to the enemy the undivided command of the 

18. Wliat effect had this movement on the Americans? 19. What change in the 
conduct of the British army is noticed at this time? 20. "What is said of the Ameri- 
cans? 21. What was done by an officer of Marion's brigade V 22. Upon whom had 
the command of the British .army now devolved ? 23. From what cause ? 24. Where 
did Major Doyle taivC post? 25. What was the amount of his army ? 



350 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

country to the south of the Santee and Congaree, and westward 
to the Edisto. 

But this superiority was not of long continuance. The dili- 
gence of Greene and his officers, and the patriotism of the sol- 
diers, served to sustain them in their position, amid every form 
of privation and suffering, and gradually to restore their strength. 
The army was recruited by Colonels Shelby and Sevier, with 
five hundred men from the mountain region, and the infantry 
received an accession of one hundred and sixty recruits from 
North Carolina. The artillery destroyed in the battle of Eu- 
taw had been replaced from Virginia ; the wounded survivors 
had been recovered, and the cavalry — that most essential part 
of an army in a level and thinly-settled country — was rapidly 
accumulating under the several commands of Sumter, Marion, 
Horry, Maham, Hammond, and others. In two months from 
the battle of Eutaw, the American general was in a capacity to 
act. Marion, having under him Sevier, Shelby, Horry, and 
Maham, with their respective divisions, was ordered to operate 
between the Santee and Charlestown. Sumter, with his brigade 
of state troops, and some companies from his militia-brigade, 
was ordered to take post at Orangeburg and defend the country 
against the loyalists from the city ; while Pickens, with two 
regiments, maintained the frontier from the Indians, and covered 
it against the predatory warfare which still raged in that quarter. 

The commands of Sumter and Marion crossed the rivers in 
the beginning of November, and advanced upon the enemy. 
The former soon fell in with a strong party of the loyalists un- 
der General Cunningham, who had advanced upon Orangeburg, 
and one of his officers, a Major Morris, suffered himself to fall 
into an ambuscade, in which he sustained some loss. The forces 
of Sumter and Cunningham, being nearly equal, operated as mu- 
tual checks upon each other. Cunningham, who had issued 
from Charlestown on a predatory expedition in to the upper 

26. What part of the country was he thus enabled to command ? 27. How was Gen- 
eral Greene's army soon after recruited ? 28. When did he find himself in a capacity 
to act? 29. What officers were ordered to act between the Santee and Charlestown ? 
30. Where did Sumter take post? 31. Where was Colonel Pickens stationed ? 32. When 
did Sumter and Marion cross the river and advance upon the enemy ? 33. What 
party did Sumter encounter ? 



PROGRESS OF THE AMERICANS. 351 

country, was checked in his progress ; while Sumter, to con- 
tinue this restraint upon his enemy, and maintain himself in 
safety, fell back for the present, and secured himself by a care- 
ful selection of position. 

It was about this period that a foraywas undertaken by Wil- 
liam Cunningham, who, by his savage ferocities, had acquired 
the nom de guerre of " Bloody Bill," which is generally known 
in Carolina tradition as the " Bloody Scout." Cunningham 
made his way with a force of two or three hundred men from 
the city to the interior, taking advantage of the temporary ab- 
sence from the route of any large party of the Americans. His 
own force was broken up into small parties, the better to elude 
detection. Their rendezvous was appointed at Rogue's Ford, on 
the Edisto, from which point they spread themselves on every 
hand. 

Though scattered in small bands, they were yet easily got 
together, and were always prepared to act in concert. They 
took the interior country by surprise, and marked their silent 
and rapid progress everywhere by massacre. They gave no 
quarter. Their prisoners, where they met resistance, were hewn 
to pieces after conflict. But, in most cases, they found only 
defenceless people in their houses, unprepared for combat — un- 
apprehensive of danger. The men were commonly shot or cut 
down ; the women experienced various brutalities ; boys of fif- 
teen were hewn to pieces ; horses and all moveable property car- 
ried off, and when not moveable, burned. The horrid massacres, 
on Cloud's creek, of Turner's troop — at Edgehill, of Hayes' 
party, where scores of men were butchered at the same mo- 
ment after capture — are still reported with shuddering by the 
people of the regions where these terrible atrocities were com- 
mitted. 

Nor did they spare the isolated residence which offered no 
resistance. The detailed crimes of this " bloody scout," as still 
dwelt upon by the preserving tradition, would crowd a volume. 
The deed done — men slain, horses stolen, houses burnt — the 

84. Who undertook a " foray " about this time ? 85. "What was his nnm de g.uerre ? 
36. Where did the several parties under his command rendezvous ? 87. How did they 
mark their progress? 38. How did they dispose of their prisoners ? 89. Describe 
their propjress. 40. At what places were horrible massacres committed? 



852 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

marauders sped in search of newer victims, from house to house 
— never hngering long in one spot, lest the avenger should rise 
upon them. 

He did finally rise. The country was roused, and hurried 
on the track of the desperadoes. Scores of small parties, led 
by outraged fathers, sons, brothers, were soon upon their heels, 
and but few escaped. Those who did were indebted for their 
safety rather to the speed of their horses than their own skill 
or valor. Cunningham himself escaped and survived the war, 
returning finally to Europe. But, in all the region of country 
thus ravaged, he remains to this day the proverbial monster. 
His deeds were indignantly repudiated by the British General 
Leslie, and by General Cunningham, the representative of a 
remote branch of the same family. 

To return to the affairs below. 

The progress of Marion was arrested for a while, in conse- 
quence of his encountering, at Wantoot, the whole army of 
Stewart, who was at this time busy ravaging the country, lay- 
ing in provisions for sustaining a siege in Charlestown, and ac- 
cumulating that plunder with w^hich their fleet of three hundred 
sail was laden when they subsequently took flight from the 
waters of Cooper river. 

About this time, the news was received, by both armies, of 
the fall of Cornwallis in Virginia. To the British in Carolina, 
it was ominous of that fate which the unrelaxing energies of 
Greene, and the determined valor of the troops under him, 
seemed resolved to hasten ; and, in anticipation of this event, 
the British commander, as if no longer confident in his arms, 
was preparing to convert his soldiers into mere marauders. In 
the short period wliich followed the return of Major Doyle with 
the British army to the Eutaws, he had succeeded in plundering 
the country, on the Santee and Congaree, of every negro, and 
of almost everything else in the shape of property that could 
be carried away. But that Marion and Hampton guarded the 

41. What did tlioy do Avliere no resistance was offered ? 42. Did the aven2:er arise ? 
43. With what success ? 44. "Wfiat became of Cunningham V 45. "What is said of 
him ? 40. How was tlie progress of Marion arrested ? 47. What news was receiveil 
about tliis time V 48. TIow liad Major Doyle been employing his army ? 



PROGRESS OF THE AMERICANS. 353 

opposite banks of these rivers, their ravages would have ex- 
tended far beyond these comparatively narrow limits. 

The intelligence of the surrender of Yorktown reached the 
camp of Greene about the last of October. The day was ob- 
served as a jubilee in camp, and the grateful tidings gave a new 
impulse to the desire of the American general to cross the riv- 
ers which separated him from his enemy, and drive him down 
to the sea. This object had now become one of infinite im- 
portance, in order that the elections might be held as generally 
throughout the state as possible for the legislature. The re- 
establishment of the civil authority was of the last importance 
to the country, as well as to the army. The former was with- 
out laws, and had been exposed to a jurisdiction as various and 
wild as the passions of the several and conflicting parties by 
whom, at successive periods, it had been held in possession. The 
latter was suffering from every species of want. 

" Our situation," says Greene, in a letter immediately after 
the battle of Eutaw, " is truly dejDlorable in the quartermaster's 
and ordnance departments. We have no ammunition and not 
half tents enough ; few camp kettles, and no axes, and, until 
very lately, no canteens." 

Add to this, the want of clothes to cover their nakedness, the 
want of salt to season their food, and the want of physic to 
heal their sick, and the patriotism of the American general and 
his troops will derive its highest honors from their condition. 

On the 18th of November, the camp at the Hills was broken 
up, and the American army again put in motion. As the route 
to be pursued led the army off from the support of Marion, who 
was charged with guarding its left while on its march. Captain 
Eggleston, with the legion, and a detachment from the Virgin- 
ians, was despatched to strengthen him. The main army took 
up the line of march on the route by Simmons' and M'Cord's 
ferries, through Orangeburg, to Riddlespurger's ; thence by the 
Indianfield road to Ferguson's mill, where that road crosses the 

49. How was the news of the surrender of Yorktown received in the American 
camp ? 50. What was now the desire of General Greene? 51. Why wns tliis object 
of great importance? 52. What had been for some time the condition of the country? 
C3, What were the wants of the army? 54. WHien was the American army again sot 
in motion ? 55. What route did the main army pursue ? 



354 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

Edisto — the intention of the American general being appa- 
rently to gain a position on Four Holes, for the double purpose 
of covering the country beyond him, and controlling the move- 
ments of the enemy on his right. Another object in this move- 
ment was to intercept the flight of the British to Savannah — 
intelligence having been received by Marion, from Charlestown, 
that such was their intention. 

It was in the confident belief that the force of Marion was 
adequate to keep in check that of the enemy under Stewart, 
that Greene ventured to place himself in a position which left 
him particularly exposed to an attack from Charlestown. To 
the great astonishment of Marion, no less than of the commander- 
in-chief, the mountaineers under Shelby and Sevier — upon the 
strength of whose reinforcement he had ventured into the field 
— on a sudden deserted him, after three weeks' service. This 
desertion was, with some probability, attributed to the departure 
of their colonel, Shelby, who had obtained leave of absence. 
Somethino;, too, has been said of the service not beins suffi- 
cientlv active for their habits ; but reasons such as these furnish 
a poor apology for soldiers, who, in the cause of their countrj-'s 
liberty, should be well pleased to encounter any sort of service 
which it may be the policy of their commander to impose. But 
they were restless, impatient, and naturally desirous of reach- 
ing their homes, and with nothing to do but watch and wait 
events, it was, perhaps, natural that they should be restive. 

Marion had endeavored to find tliem sufiiicient employment. 
He had approached and defied the enemy, but could neither 
tempt nor provoke him to leave his encampment. With num- 
bers decidedly inferior, the brave partisan was chagrined to find 
it impossible to bring the British into the field ; and the only 
services in which lie was able to employ his mountaineers were 
in attacks on the post at Fairlawn, and on the redoubts at Wap- 
petaw. Detachments of about two hundred of them, supported 
by Maham's cavahy, were, in both instances, commanded by 

56. What was the intention of tlie American general ? 57. What other object had 
he in view? 58. Why did Greene venture to place himself in danger of an attack 
from Charlestown ? 59. How was this object defeated ? 60. What excuses have been 
assigned for the desertion of the mountaineers ? 61. How had Marion endeavored to 
employ them ? 



PROGRESS OF THE AMERICANS. 355 

Shelby. "Wappetaw was abandoned at their approach. The 
attack at Fairlavvn was made while the enemy lay at Wantoot. 
In passing this post, Marion showed himself; but did not suc- 
ceed in decoying the British cavalry into the field. At Fair- 
lawn, the attack was successful ; the place surrendered at dis- 
cretion, and the whole garrison, with three hundred stand of 
arms, stores, and provisions, fell into the hands of the Ameri- 
cans. The house with its contents, and the abbatis, were com- 
mitted to the flames. 

The desertion of the mountaineers, who formed so large a 
portion of Marion's command, might have been of the most 
pernicious consequence to the several divisions of the American 
army, but for the alarm which the movement of Greene across 
the Congaree had occasioned in the mind of Stewart. 

Greene had advanced too far to recede ; Marion had passed 
the Santee, and any disaster to him would have compelled an 
immediate retreat of the main army, to avoid worse conse- 
quences. The ignorance of the British commander of the real 
condition of his foe, and, perhaps, a consciousness of his own 
weakness — of which the Americans were equally ignorant at 
the time — by prompting his retreat toward Charlestown, induced 
Greene to undertake an enterprise calculated to confirm the ene- 
my's fears of the American strength, and, by forcing him into 
Charlestown, without risking an action, to get the entire com- 
mand of the state. 

With this object, he left the army on its march, under the 
command of Colonel Williams ; and, at the head of two hun- 
dred cavalry, and as many infantry, moved briskly toward Dor- 
chester. The cavalry consisted of Lee's and Washington's, and 
one hundred men drawn from the command of Sumter. The 
infantry were those of the legion, and detachments from the 
lines of Maryland and Virginia. The command of this de- 
tachment was given to Colonel Wade Hampton. 

Greene flattered himself with the hope of being able to sur- 

62. What success end tliey meet at Fairlawn ? 63. What prevented the evil conse- 
quences -which might have arisen from the desertion of the mountaineers ? 64. What 
movement was now made by General Greene? 65. With whom did he leave the 
main army? 66. What officer commanded the advanced guard of the American de- 
tachment ? 



856 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

prise the post at Dorchester; but the enemy received notice of 
his approach, and lay upon their arms all night. Not seeing 
the Americans appear as soon as they expected, the British sent 
forth a party of fifty for intelligence. Hampton's advanced 
guard encountered the party, and but few were suffered to 
escape. So close was the pursuit of the survivors pressed to 
the enemy's post, that the whole cavalry of the British army, 
which, with a strong detachment of infantry, had been sent to 
reinforce that post, issued out to charge the pursuing party. 

To cut off this corps, was a leading desire with Greene, and 
he saw their approach with the most pleasurable anticipations. 
But they recoiled and fled from the fierce onset of Hamp- 
ton's horse. Twenty or thirty were slain, wounded, or taken ; 
and such an alarm did the presence of Greene in person excite 
among them, under the belief that his whole army was at hand, 
that the garrison at Dorchester, during the night, destroyed 
everything — threw their cannon into the river, and made a 
rapid retreat to Charlestown. Greene did not dare to pursue, 
for the infantry of "The enemy alone exceeded five hundred. 

This manoeuvre had all the effect which was intended. The 
panic of the enemy increased, their outposts were all aban- 
doned, and their whole force concentrated at the quarter-house, 
about six miles from Charlestown. Here, where the isthmus is 
narrow, the fugitives were halted and joined by General Stew- 
art, who, meanwhile, had been hurrying with all speed, by an- 
other route, toward the city. 

General Leslie, who now succeeded Stewart, made every 
preparation for immediate attack. The fears of the fugitives 
from Dorchester had magnified the force of Greene to some- 
thing more than three thousand men, at a time when that com- 
mander could not muster at headquarters more than eight hun- 
dred. The force under Leslie was scarcely less than five 
thousand ; yet he deemed it necessary, in the general panic, to 

G7. Did Greeue succeed iu surprising the enemy at Dorchester ? GS. What was the 
result of this attack ? 69. Wtiat was the number of the enemy's infantry ? 70. What 
was the effect of Greene's manoeuvre ? 71. Who had now succeeded General Stew- 
art y 72. To what number was the American force magnified by the fears of the fugi- 
tives from Dorchester ? 73. What was the actual number? 74. What was the amount 
of General Leslie's force ? 



PROGRESS OP THE AMERICANS. 357 

resort to a measure wliicli must sufficiently have testified his 
own fears, while it awakened, to the keenest poignancy, those 
of the remaining inhabitants. He embodied in regiments the 
numerous slaves who had been drawn from the neighboring 
plantations, and crowded into the city as a part of that plunder 
with which the providence of the British commanders had pre- 
pared to console themselves for a flight which now appeared to 
be inevitable. 

T5. To wbat measure did he, in the general panic resort ? 



35 S HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 



CHAPTER XV. 

CIVIL GOVERNMENT RE-ESTABLISHED WAR SUBSIDES. 

Driven in from all their outposts, the British were confined 
in their operations, to the city, the Neck, and the neighboring 
islands. The object of General Greene, and all that he could 
effect, in the thin and unprovided condition of his army, was 
attained ; and Governor Rutledge convened the legislature of 
the state at Jacksonborough, a little village on the Edisto river, 
about twenty miles from the sea, and thirty-five from the city 
of Charlestown. 

This event, which once more restored the forms of civil gov- 
ernment to the state, after an interregnum of nearly two years, 
took place in January, 1782. It was originally arranged by the 
governor and common council to convene it at Camden ; but 
General Greene, after his excursion to Dorchester, having 
reconnoitred the country between the Edisto and Ashley, and 
found it possessed of sufficient military advantages to admit of 
his covering Jacksonborough with his little army from danger 
and insult, warmly recommended the adoption of the latter place 
in preference to all others for the assembling of the delegates ; 
since the re-establishment of the civil authority so near the 
British garrison would, more conclusively than any other event, 
short of the absolute expulsion of the foe, confirm the evidence 
of a complete recovery of the state. 

The army, in the meantime, took post at the plantation of 
Colonel Skirving, six miles below Jacksonborough, and on the 
road leading to Charlestown. 



1. To what parts of the state were the British now confined? 2. "Was the object of 
General Greene now attained ? 3. When did this event occur? 4 Where had the 
governor and common council arranged to convene the legislature ? 5. Why did 
General Greene recommend Jacksonborough ? 6 Where did the army take post ? 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT RE-ESTABLISHED. 359 

But, before the place could be put in perfect security, Greene 
conceived it necessary to drive the British from John's island, 
one of the inner chain of islands which stretch along the coast 
from Charlestown to Savannah, separated from the main by 
creeks and marshes, and from each other by estuaries of the 
rivers, generally denominated sounds and inlets. John's and 
James's islands, with the city and the Neck, were now the only 
footholds left to the British, of all their conquests in South 
Carolina. 

On John's island, which is secure, fertile, and extensive, they 
maintained a force of five hundred men, under Colonel Craig. 
The island was also guarded at all accessible points, by galleys 
carrying heavy guns. These galleys, at a favorable time of the 
tide, might easily approach Jacksonborough, which is not beyond 
striking distance from John's island ; while the communication 
with Charlestown being open through James's island, made it 
easy for the British, unperceived, to throw reinforcements into 
the former. 

Greene resolved, if possible, to drive the enemy from this 
important position. It was soon ascertained, not only that the 
island was accessible, but that the British, unapprehensive of 
danger, were comparatively unprepared for attack. 

Laurens and Lee, knowing the desire of Greene, and having 
examined the approaches, solicited his permission to enter upon 
the undertaking. Their plan was to pass by night between the 
galleys, and surprise the force under Craig. There was one point 
between the Stono and Edisto, at which the island was formerly 
connected with the highland by a piece of hard marsh. To 
complete the inland communication between Charlestown and 
Edisto, by the way of Stono, a canal had been cut through this 
marsh, and was known by the name of New Cut. At low water 
this is fordable, and to guard this pass the British had moored 
two galleys at convenient distances ; but to avoid exposure from 

7. What was necessary to be done to put the place in perfect security? 8. What 
were now the only footholds left to the British, of all their conquests in South 
Carolina? 9. How is John's island situated ? 10. What force had the British at this 
place? 11. How was the island farther guarded? 12. Why did General Greene 
resolve to drive the enemy from John's island ? 13. Who solicited permission to enter 
upon the undertaking? 14. What was their plan ? 15. What was the situation of the 
galleys ? 



360 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

grounding, they were i3laced in positions which were necessarily 
somewhat remote ; and this circumstance suggested the project 
of passing between them. 

Greene sanctioned the plan of these enterprising young 
officers, and the night of the 13th of January was fixed on for 
its execution. The main army moved on the 12th to Wallace's 
bridge, with the view of diverting the attention of the enemy 
from the real point of attack ; while two light detachments, 
under the command of Laurens, crossing the country from 
Ashley river, waded the north branch of the Stono, and ad- 
vanced to New Cut, which is at the head of the southern 
branch. 

The rest of the army was put in motion after dusk, and 
advanced to cover and support its detachment. Greene him- 
self reached the Cut before the time of low water, at which 
period alone the canal is fordable. 

Here he found his attacking party in strange embarrassment. 
The detachments of Lee and Laurens, forming separate columns 
on the march, had been led, the first by Lee, and the second by 
Major Hamilton. Lee's column was in advance, and Laurens, 
as commander of the whole party, accompanying it in person. 
But Hamilton, through the desertion of his guide, lost his way 
to the ford, and his column was completely lost to the enter- 
prise. 

The time for striking the blow had passed. The first column 
had crossed over to the island, but was necessarily recalled be- 
fore the height of the returning tide should prevent its retreat. 
The opportunity was thus lost of cutting off, by complete sur- 
prise, a force of five hundred of the enemy. 

But the object could not be relinquished, and Greene ordered 
a boat on wagons from the Edisto, determined on forcing his 
passage to the island. The artillery was then brought to bear 
upon the galleys, and drove them from their stations, while 
Laurens, passing the Cut, penetrated to the encampment of the 
enemy. 

16. When was the attempt made ? 17. Who commanded the two columns of the 
attacking party ? 18. Which column succeeded in crossing the Cut ? 19. What 
prevented Major Hamilton's from crossing'/ 20. Defeated in their intentions of 
cutting off the enemy by surprise, what was done by General Greene ? 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT RE-ESTABLISHED. 361 

But the latter did not wait for the assault. The alarm occa- 
sioned by the narrow escape of the morning, convinced him of 
the insecurity of his position ; and taking counsel from his 
apprehensions rather than his valor, Major Craig had already 
commenced his flight, in anticipation of the attack. A few 
prisoners only rewarded the rapidity of Laurens's movements ; 
but the main object of Greene was attained, and without loss. 

This event completed the security of Jacksonbcrough, and left 
the government of the state, assembled within its walls, free in 
the unrestrained and fearless execution of the arduous and 
solemn duties devolving upon its hands. 

The assembly met and formed a quorum on the day for which 
the members were summoned. The proclamation of the governor 
precluded all persons from suffrage and membership who had 
placed themselves under British protection, or were in any man- 
ner obnoxious to popular odium or suspicion. None but true 
and tried men were present, and these were mostly veterans — 
the brave men who had sustained the conflict with unremitting 
valor and unfailing fortitude from the beginning. But very few 
were present who had not drawn theii* weapons in the strife ; 
and many appeared on this occasion, clad in armor, who had 
stolen a brief respite from the labors of the field, that they might 
assist in the no less arduous toils of council. All had suffered, 
and many of them severely. A nobler assembly — one mere 
distinguished for faith, integrity, wisdom, and valor — was never 
yet convoked in the cause of a nation. 

The proceedings were opened by a speech from Governor 
Rutledge, distinguished by the accustomed energy of manner 
and force of matter which characterized that orator. In the 
course of this speech, he gave a brief glance at the history of the 
war in the state. A portion of his picture we transfer to our 
pages, as summing up, briefly, a thousand details which a more 
particular narration would make too voluminous for our limits : 

" The enemy," said he, " unable to make any impression upon 

21. What was his success ? 22. What benefit resulted from this expedition? 23. 
What persons had been by the governor's proclamation precluded from suflFrage or 
membership in the new legislature? 24. Of whom was the assembly composed? 25. 
How were the proceedings opened ? 

16 



362 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

the northern states, the number of whose inhabitants, and the 
strength of whose country, had baffled their repeated efforts, 
turned their view\s towards the southern, wdiich a difference of 
circumstances afforded some expectation of conquering, or, at 
least, of greatly distressing. After a long resistance, the reduc- 
tion of Charlestown was effected by the vast superiority of force 
with which it had been besieged. The loss of that garrison, as 
it consisted of the continental troops of Virginia and the Caro- 
linas, and of a number of militia, facilitated the enemy's march 
into the country ; and their establishment of strong posts in the 
upper and interior parts of it, and the unfrivorable issue of the 
action near Camden, induced them vainly to imagine that no 
other army could be collected which they might not easily 
defeat. 

"The militia commanded by the brigadiers Marion and Sumter, 
whose enterprising spirit and unremitting perseverance under 
many difficulties are deserving of great applause, harassed and 
often defeated large parties ; but the numbers of these militia 
were too few to contend effectually with the collected strength 
of the enemy. 

" Regardless, therefore, of the sacred ties of honor, destitute 
of the feelings of humanity, and determined to extinguish, if 
possible, every spark of freedom in this country, they, with the 
insolent pride of conquerors, gave unbounded scope to the exer- 
cise of their tyrannical dispositions, infringed their public en- 
gagements, and violated the most solemn capitulations. Many 
of our worthiest citizens were, without cause, long and closely 
confined, some on board of prison-ships, and others in the town 
and castle of St. Augustine ; their properties disposed of at the 
will and caprice of the enemy, and their families sent to a 
different and distant part of the continent, without the means 
of support. Many who had surrendered as prisoners of war 
were killed in cold blood ; several suffered death in the most 



26. By what means did he state Charlestown had been reduced? 27. What effect 
was produced by the fall of Charlestown ? 28. What induced the enemy to suppose 
the state conquered ? 29. Who commanded the militia which still endeavored to 
contend with the British? 30. How did the enemy treat many of our worthiest 
citizens ? 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT RE-ESTABLISHED. 368 

ignominious manner, and others were delivered up to savages, 
and put to tortures under wliicli they expired. 

" Thus the lives, liberties, and properties of the people were 
dependent solely on the pleasure of British officers, who deprived 
them of eithei, or all, on the most frivolous pretences. Indians, 
slaves, and a desperate banditti of the most profligate character, 
were caressed and employed by the enemy, to execute their 
infamous purposes. Devastation and ruin marked their progress 
and that of their adherents ; nor were their violences restrained 
by the charms or influence of beauty and innocence. Even the 
fair sex, whom it is the duty of all, and the pride and pleasure 
of the brave, to protect — they and their tender offspring were 
victims to the inveterate malice of an unrelenting foe. Neither 
the tears of mothers, nor the cries of infants, could excite in 
their liearts pity or compassion. 

" Not only the fearful habitations of the widow, the aged, and 
the infirm, but the holy temples of the Most High, w^ere con- 
sumed in flames kindled by their sacrilegious hands. They have 
tarnished the glory of the British arms, disgraced the profession 
of the British soldier, and fixed indelible stigmas of rapine, 
cruelty, perfidy, and profaneness on the British name ! 

'' But I can now congratulate you, and I do so most cordially, 
on the pleasing change of affairs which, under the blessing of 
God, the wisdom, prudence, address, and bravery of the great 
and gallant General Greene, and the intrepidity of the officers 
and men under his command, has been happily effected. His 
successes have been more rapid and complete than the most 
sanguine could have expected. The enemy, compelled to sur- 
render or evacuate every post which they held in the country, 
frequently defeated and driven from place to place, are obliged 
to seek refuge under the walls of Charlestown, and on islands in 
its vicinity. We have now the full and absolute possession of 
every other part of the state, and the legislative, executive, and 
judicial powders are in the free exercise of their respective au 
thorities." 

31. Upon what wore the lives, liberties, and property of our people made depend- 
ent? 32. What buildings were committed to the flames? 33. Repeat the congratu- 
latory paragraph of Goveruor Rutledge's address. 



364 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

The governor proceeded to recommend the embodiment of a 
regular force of state troops, and a re-organization of the militia. 
Another important matter which he suggested for their consid- 
eration was, "the conduct of such of our citizens as, voluntarily 
avowing their allegiance, and even glorying in their professions 
of loyalty and attachment to his Britannic majesty, have offered 
their congratulations on the successes of his arms, prayed to be 
embodied as royal militia, accepted commissions in his service, 
and endeavored to subvert our constitution and establish his 
power in its stead ; of those v/ho have returned to the state in 
defiance of a law by which such return was declared to be a 
capital offence, and have abetted the British interest ; and of 
such whose behavior has been so reprehensible that justice and 
policy forbid their free readmission to the rights and privileges 
of citizens." 

"■' The extraordinary lenity of this state," continues this ad- 
dress, " has been remarkably conspicuous. Other states have 
thought it just and expedient to appropriate the property of 
British subjects to the public use ; but we have forborne to 
take even the profits of the estates of our most implacable ene- 
mies." 

Governor Rutledge concluded with recommending immediate 
attention to the currency, which had become worthless as a ten- 
der, and proposed to repeal the law from which it drew the le- 
gal sanction to its circulation. 

The legislature proceeded to business in a spirit correspond- 
ing with that which the governor's speech had shown. Laws 
were passed for confiscating the property of certain persons, 
and banishing them from the state ; for amercing the estates of 
others of whose personal services the country had been de- 
prived. The preamble to the act of confiscation, relating the 
rea-ons which justified the measure, declared it to be a measure 
of retaliation for like confiscations made by the British authori- 
ties of the property of the patriots. But the most efficacious 
reason tor the adoption of this measure, was the necessity of 

Si. What did the governor proceed to recommend ? 35. Wliat other important 
matter was suggested for their consideration ? 86. Wliat did tlie governor, in con- 
clusion, recommend ? 37. What hiws were passed by tliis assembly, respecting certain 
I)erson8 ? 



CIVIL GOVERNMENT RE-ESTABLISHED. 365 

the case. The state was wholly destitute of funds ; no imme- 
diate resources could be had either by loan or taxation, and the 
estates of tlie loyalists presented the only means for establishing 
a fund upon which to build a temporary credit. The indulgence 
of the state authorities, subsequently released the rigor of this 
act in the case of many of the individuals upon whom it bore, 
whose names were stricken from the records which chronicled 
their shame and forfeiture. 

The legislature, among other acts, originated a bill for vest- 
ing in General Greene, in consideration of his services, the sum 
often thousand guineas — a gift which furnished an example to 
the states of Georgia and North Carolina, which they promptly 
followed. The former voted him five thousand guineas, and 
the latter, twenty -four thousand acres of land. 

Governor Rutledge was succeeded in the executive chair of 
South Carolina by John Matthews (1782). The office was 
tendered first to Christopher Gadsden, who declined it because 
of his infirmities and age. 

The military operations of the opposing forces seemed almost 
entirely suspended during the session of the legislature. The 
British were paralyzed, and never ventured from the cover of 
their stronghold, and the Americans were too feeble to attempt 
them there. The fall of Cornwallis, however, brought to 
Greene a small portion of the army which had been employed 
against him, under the command of the famous General Wayne, 
and he was enabled to assume a more active character in his 
operations. 

He despatched Wayne, with a detachment, to Georgia ; and 
this general, by a series of small but sharp engagements, suc- 
ceeded in circumscribing the movements of the British in that 
state to the limits of Savannah, as Greene, in South Carohna, 
had forced them within the walls of Charlestown. 

38. What necessity existed for the adoption of this measure? 89. What compensa- 
tion was voted to General Greene? 40. How was the example of South Carolina, in 
this respect, followed by Georgia and North Carolina? 41. Who succeeded General 
llutledge In the executive chair ? 42. To whom had the otfice previously been ten- 
dered ? 43. Why was it declined by him ? 44. What was tlie condition of the oppos- 
ing forces, at this time? 45. What accession to his army did Greene now receive? 
.46. What did General Wayne achieve in Ge'orgia? 



366 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

The subsequent evacuation of Savannah filled the Carolinians 
with a lively hope that their chief city would, also, soon be res- 
cued from the hands of the enemy. The British garrison, at 
Savannah, however, was added to that of Charlestown ; while 
Wayne, having completed the duties upon which he had been 
sent to Georgia, re-united his division to the main army, under 
Greene. 

The successes of Greene's detachments, operating on his left, 
were not so brilliant as those of Wayne. The brigade of Mar- 
ion suffered some reverses, which were due only to a want of 
strength. The country, from the Edisto to the Santee, became 
thrown open, in consequence, for a time, to the ravages of the 
enemy ; and a party of loyalists, under the command of William 
Cunningham — familiarly known by the epithet of " Bloody 
Bill Cunningham" — escaped from the lower country, and as- 
cended the Saluda, with a body of three hundred horse. But 
we have already despatched this history in preceding pages. 

This movement was made in concert Avith the Cherokee In- 
dians, and demanded all tiie vigilance of Pickens, who held 
watch upon the borders. Rapid as was the progress of this 
marauding party, their tracks were made everywhere in blood. 
But the whig hunters turned out with spirit, and under popular 
leaders, the tories were routed and dispersed. A portion of 
them fled to the Cherokees, and drew upon the savages another 
chastisement, such as had already more than once thinned their 
warriors, destroyed their villages, and diminished their hunting- 
grounds. 

The daily extension of General Greene's troops to the south- 
ward and eastward, and the contraction of his cordon around 
the land limits of the British, soon began to be felt by General 
Leslie, their commander. His foraging ground became too 
small to yield a subsistence to the large numbers of horses 
which had accumulated within his lines, in consequence of his 
calling in his detachments, and he was reduced to the necessity, 

47. What became of the British garrison at Savannah ? 48. What consequences 
followed some reverses suffered by Marion's brigade? 49. What was done by Wil- 
liam Cunningham? 50. What movement was made, at the same time, on the borders? 
51. Who was appointed to keep watcli in that quarter? 52. What was the result of 
^his vigilance ? 



WAR SUBSIDES. 367 

in order to relieve himself of this difficulty, of putting two hun- 
dred of these animals to death. 

An alarm excited in the American camp, on the rumored 
approach of the enemy with strong reinforcements, led to an 
order to Marion to repair to headquarters with all the force he 
could gather. This command was promptly obeyed ; but a de- 
tachment of mounted infantry was left at Monk's Corner, to watch 
the motions of the enemy, who, by means of Cooper river, had 
free access in their boats and galleys to that neighborhood. 

To destroy this detachment, in Marion's absence, a force of 
three hundred and fifty men were transported by water from 
Charlestown. The sudden return of Marion, with all his brig- 
ade, from the camp of Greene — an event quite unexpected by 
the enemy — enabled him partly to defeat their enterprise. 
His force did not equal that which was arrayed against him, 
but he, nevertheless, resolved upon attacking it. In order to 
detain the enemy, he despatched Colonels Richardson and 
Sevier, and a part of Maham's horse, with orders to throw 
themselves in front of the British, and engage them until he 
should come up with the main body. The order was gallantly 
executed. The British advance was charged and driven near 
St. Thomas's musterhouse, by Captain Smith, of Maham's cav- 
alry, and their leader. Captain Campbell, with several others, 
fell in the flight. Unhappily, the pursuit was urged too warmly. 
The pursuers were met by Captain Coffin, who, at the head of 
his cavalry, charged and dispersed them in turn. This event 
left Marion too weak to hazard an engagement, while the ene- 
my were very well content to continue their march without at- 
tempting to force him to it. 

The British expedition, by the timely interposition of Mari- 
on's force, resulted in nothing more than their capture of a small 
number of cattle, with which they retired across Wappetaw to 

53. To wlrat was General Leslie compelled by the restriction of his limits ? 54. Where 
was a detachment of Marion's mounted infantry stationed ? 55. "What attempt was 
made to destroy this force, during Marion's absence? 56. How was their enterprise 
partly defeated ? 5T. How did Marion endeavor to detain the enemy ? 53. By whom 
was the British advance put to flight? 59. What officer fell in the flight? 60. AVhat 
resulted from the pursuit being too warmly urged ? 61. What did the British achieve 
by tliis expedition ? 



368 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

Haddrell's point, where, and at Hobcaw, they had established 
posts to facilitate the movements of strong parties which were 
continually alert in procuring provisions, the want of which was 
now seriously felt in the garrison. 

The brigade of Marion had always been one of the most effi- 
cient in the service, at once remarkable for the vigilance and 
the valor of its officers and men. Unhappily, however, a ques- 
tion of precedence with respect to rank, arose between two of 
the former, both of them highly distinguished as leaders, and 
particularly esteemed by their commander. These were Col- 
onels Horry and Maham. 

During the absence of Marion, in attendance upon the legis- 
lature, the command was given to Horry ; upon which prefer- 
ence — a preference due to the seniority of the latter as an offi- 
cer — Maham separated his corps from the brigade, which lay 
at Wambaw, posted them higher up the river, and then pro- 
ceeded to the legislature, of which he, also, was a member. 

In this affiiir, Colonel Maham was unquestionably in fault. 
Greene and Marion endeavored to reconcile the discontented 
officer, but without success ; and while the dispute was pending, 
and, perhaps, in consequence of the withdrawal of Maham's 
horse from the command of Horry, the latter was surprised by 
a strong detachment of infantry, artillery, and cavalry, under 
Colonel Thompson — afterward more renowned and generally 
known as Count Rumford — and the brigade dispersed. 

On hearing this intelligence, Marion put himself at the head 
of Maham's regiment, which he had reached but a few hours 
before, and hurried on toward Wambf^w, the scene of the sur- 
prise, to check the enemy and collect the fugitives. Arrived 
within five miles of the British, he halted to refresh his men 
and horses, and while the latter were unbitted and feeding, the 
whole of the enemy's cavalry made their appearance. 

62. Where had they established posts for the procuring of provisions ? 63. How 
had Marion's brigade always ranked? 64. Between v/hich officers did a dispute 
arise? 65. From what cause? 66. Where was General Marion ? 67. To whom was 
the command given during Marion's absence? 68. What did Maham, in conse- 
quence? 69. Who was in fault in this affair? 70. Who attempted to reconcile the 
quarrel ? — and with what success ? 71. What happened to the brigade, during the 
absence of Maham's corps? 72. When intelligence of this misfortune reached Mar- 
ion, what movement did he make? 73. How was he surprised ? 



WAR SUBSIDES. 369 

If the Americans were unprepared for the encounter — and 
it was Maham's opinion, that a charge of the British, if ordered 
immediately on coming into view, w^ould have dispersed the 
regiment — the enemy seemed as little disposed to take advan- 
tage of their surprise. Seeing that they not only halted, but 
exhibited appearances of indecision and alarm, Marion, though 
with a force only half as numerous, resolved to attack them. 

The indecision of the British had allowed the Americans full 
time to mount their horses and recover ; and they moved to the 
extremity of a lane, through which they were to issue, with a 
firm and fearless countenance. Though greatly fewer in num- 
ber than the foe, the Americans were better mounted ; and fre- 
quent exercise and repeated successes had inspired them with 
a confidence in themselves, which almost made them heedless 
of any odds. But they w^ere destined, by one of those counter 
events, which disturb and defeat equally the hopes and the cal- 
culations of men, to lose "a glorious opportunity," in the lan- 
guage of Marion, " of cutting up the British cavalry." 

The front section was led by an officer of approved courage, 
who, in a very recent affair, had signally distinguished himself. 
It is Napoleon, however, who says '• that every man has his 
moment of fear ;" and it was, seemingly, at some such unlucky 
moment that the leading officer was required to begin the battle. 
He led his section forward, until, emerging from the cover of 
the lane, at its extremity, and in the face of the foe, instead of 
charging boldly before him, he dashed aside into the forests on 
his right, and drew after him the whole regiment in irretrieva- 
ble confusion. 

Vainly seeking to arrest their flight, Marion himself was 
borne away by the crowd, and narrowly escaped falling a vic- 
tim to their miserable panic. Many of the fugitives had to 
quit their horses, and disembarrass themselves of their boots 
and armor, to pass a deep creek which lay in their way. 

It was fortunate that some alarm prevailed in the hostile 
ranks. The British were doubtful of their victory ; and, ap- 

74. Upon wliat did Marion resolve? 75. From what cause was the attack unsuc- 
cessful ? 76. What happened to Marion ? 77. How did the fugitives escape ? 78. What 
was the condition of things in the British command ? 

16* 



870 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

prehensive of ambuscade, did not pursue with promptness and 
resolution. They suffered some precious time to elapse before 
they moved in pursuit ; and but few of the Americans were 
killed or taken. They were no less confounded at their blood- 
less victory than was Marion mortified at a defeat so shameful. 

Marion's force thus dispersed, was, however, not annihilated. 
This brave partisan possessed, in a singular degree, the love 
and confidence of his countrymen, and the men who followed 
him were generally of that elastic temper which no reverses 
can subdue, and no defeat keep inactive. Wherever he made 
his appearance known, his recruits rapidly gathered around 
him ; and, falling back upon the Pedee, he collected the scat- 
tered fragments of Horry's brigade, and withdrew, till better 
times, to the Santee. The triumph of the enemy was but of 
short duration. Colonel Thompson retired before a detach- 
ment from Greene's army, under Colonel Laurens, and took 
post at Cainhoy, where he was too strongly posted to appre- 
hend any attack in his position from the American detachment. 

Laurens returned beyond the Ashley, where Greene, from 
want of resources of all kinds, troops, ammunition, and provi- 
sions, was compelled to remain comparatively inactive. The 
subsistence of the southern army, for the last eighteen months 
of the war, had been derived altogether from South Carolina. 
Even the detached army, under Wayne, in Georgia, was sup- 
plied with provisions from the sister-state. Without regarding 
the amount of her quota. South Carolina took it upon herself 
to supply the troops ; and, at the close of the war, she was 
found to be the laro;est creditor-state in the Union. When it 
is considered how many years she had been the seat of active 
and unremitting warfare, and how long she liad been engaged 
in supporting two armies, in spite of the interruption of her 
agriculture, and the devastation of her plains, it will rather be 
matter of surprise that it should have been done at all, than 
that it should not have been done in better manner. The 
greater wonder is, how any soldiers could be kept together 

79. His force thus dispersed, whitlaer did he retire? 80. What reverse did the enemy 
experience? 81. Why was General Greene now comparatively inactive? 82. How 
had the southern army been supported for the last eighteen months of the war ? 
88. ITow was tlio state situntod at the close of the war? 



WAR SUBSIDES. 371 

under circumstances such as those which prevailed in Greene's 
army. 

He writes, about this time, to the president of congress, ** we 
have three hundred men without arms, and more than a thou- 
sand so naked for want of clothing, that they can only be put 
on duty in cases of desperate necessity. Men in this situation, 
without pay or spirits, it is difficult to tell what charm keeps 
them together. I believe that it is nothing but the pride of the 
army and the severity of discipline that supports them under 
their sufferings." 

The South has reason to be proud of such soldiers ; and the 
wonder how they should have triumphed finally over the wealth, 
the valor, and the strength of Britain, and her thousand merce- 
naries, becomes proportionably lessened in the contemplation of 
a record such as this. 

The only relief for the army in this deplorable condition, was 
derived chiefly from a specific contribution, voluntarily yielded 
by the inhabitants — a source of relief, by the way, which, 
throughout the war, brought its small, but timely, aid frequently 
for its temporary preservation. In addition to this, a contra- 
band trade was opened with certain merchants in Charlestown, 
and carried on with the concurrence of the governor and 
council, through the medium of an agent near the army, and 
under the keen and vigilant eyes of Colonels Lee and Lau- 
rens, by which, in retui'n for rice, such goods as answered the 
more pressing wants of the Americans, were furnished from the 
city. The removal of the army, upon the adjournment of the 
legislature, down to Bacon's bridge, at the head of Ashley 
river, facilitated this trade by opening a boat-communication 
with the city. The produce from these arrangements, though 
small and precarious, somewhat relieved the distresses of the 
army. To its general good behavior and unshaken integrity, 
under such heavy wants as it had been compelled to endure, we 
must record one sad and singular exception. 

No longer able to meet the Americans in the field, the Brit- 

84. In what matter did General Greene describe the condition of his troops? 
85. What relief had the army from this destitution ? 86. What other expedient was 
adopted for their relief? S7. How was this trade facilitated ? 



372 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

ish employed another agent of warfare, which they have, per- 
haps, been as little reluctant to use as other and far less civilized 
nations. This was corruption. The near neighborhood of the 
American army, within twenty miles of the city, suggested to 
the enemy a design of working u^^on its distresses, and foment- 
ing those discontents which they well knew must arise in every 
body of men, whose condition is such as that of the American 
army. An emissary had succeeded in tampering with the sol- 
diers of the Pennsylvania line, five sergeants and twelve sol- 
diers of which had been bought over to the purposes of the 
enemy. 

Had the zeal of these wretches, in behalf of their new em- 
ployers, not prompted them to make an experiment on the fidel- 
ity of the Marylanders, the most fatal consequences might have 
ensued to the whole army. But the sound principles of these 
long-tried and noble fellows sustained them against temptation. 
Their integrity, the quick ears of one of their camp-women, 
and the vigor and vigilance of Colonel Harmer, furnishied the 
evidence for fastening the crime upon one Gornell, their leader. 
His arrest, and that of four other sergeants, was the signal for 
the flight of twelve of the same line, who broke away and 
escaped to the enemy on the very night on which he was taken. 
The plot had been rapidly ripening. Symptoms of mutiny 
had appeared in the American camp, and the movements in that 
of the enemy were conclusive of a scheme of simultaneous ope- 
ration between tlie foe and the insurgents. The American 
commander acted with decision. His outposts were soon moved 
to headquarters, Marion recalled from the Santee, and the army 
held in constant readiness for battle. Gornell, the ringleader 
of the mutineers, was tried and condemned ; and with his exe- 
cution, and the close confinement of his four confederates, every 
appearance of mutiiious temper ceased in the encampment. 

^Vith this attempt terminated all serious efforts of the Brit- 
ish against the main body of the southern army. The day of 
their power was rapidly passing away ; and the resolution of 

8S. What was attempted by a new agent of the enemy ? 89. How was the plan 
discovered? 90. How did the American commander act? 91. How was the ring- 
leader of the mutineers treated ? 



WAR SUBSIDES. 373 

the British paHiament, to withdraw their forces from America, 
and put an end to a war in which they had lost an empire, and 
incurred, with the shame of such a loss, the worse reproach of 
having, in the progress of the warfare, lost their reputation for 
justice, magnanimity, and the noblest qualities of a civilized and 
Christian people, prepared the way for the evacuation of Charles- 
town. 

When the vote of the British parliament for discontinuing 
acro-ressive war in America was communicated to General Les- 
lie, he proposed to General Greene a cessation of hostilities, 
and that he should be permitted to receive and purchase from 
the planters such supplies as he might need or desire. 

Greene referred the first proposition to Congress ; to the sec- 
ond he gave a flat refusal — declaring his resolution to prevent 
all supplies from going into Charlestown, except so far- as his 
contracts for clothing made it necessary. To this refusal, Les- 
lie replied by a threat of taking his provisions by force, and 
commenced his operations for that purpose. 

Greene, accordingly prepared to oppose him. Marion was 
ordered to strengthen himself, so as to meet the enemy in the 
quarter where he commanded ; while a strong detachment was 
formed, under General Gist, to cover the country lying south 
and west of the position of the army. Gist's brigade comprised 
the cav^alry of the legion, and that of the third and fourth Vir- 
ginia regiments, under Colonel Baylor ; the infantry of the le- 
gion, the dismounted dragoons of the third regiment, the Del- 
awares, and one hundred men fromthe line, under Major Beale. 
The whole of the infintry was placed under command of Colonel 
Laurens. Thus prepared for all events, Greene flattered him- 
self that he should be able to neutralize the efforts of Leslie, 
and laugh at his threatenings. Some glimpses, at this time, of 
a gentler influence than that of war, began to prevail in the 
American camp. 

Tlie arrival of General Greene's wife, who joined her hus- 

92. "What resolution was now passed by the British parliament? 93. For what did 
this resolution prepare the way ? 94. What proposal was then made by General Les- 
lie ? 95. What was the reply of General Greene ? 96. What determination did Leslie 
then express? 97. Under whose command was placed the infantry stationed for the 
purpose of defeating his intention ? 



374 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

band on the 28th of March, contributed to enliven the monotony 
of an army in a state of inactivity. The presence of the Amer- 
icans in force, necessarily brought back the planters and their 
families, who dwelt in the neighborhood. These were wealthy 
and hospitable, and the gratitude which they felt for their deliv- 
erers delighted to show itself in the generous forms of convivial 
entertainment. A gallant passage from Johnson's narrative of 
the events of this period, may fitly conclude this chapter. 

" In modern ages and nations " — he might have said, in all 
asfes and most nations — " the transition from war to love has 
ever been direct and uniform. The army abounded in gallant 
young officers, and the country in wealthy, elegant, and accom- 
plished women. The- laurels of the former were readily laid 
down at the feet of the latter, and received with approving 
smiles. Those who had reconquered the country, were liber- 
ally admitted to a participation in its wealth and treasures ; the 
feudal service exacted was a willing submission to that power 
which conquers all. Many were the matrimonial connections 
to which this period gave rise, between the officers of the army 
and the heiresses of Carolina and Georgia ; and it is needless 
to add that they yielded a valuable acquisition, both to the pop- 
ulation and the society of the country." 

98. How was the monotony of the American camp now enlivened ? 99. Eepeat the' 
extract from Johnson's narrative. 



MARION. 375 



CHAPTER XVI. 

MARION — LAURENS EVACUATION OF CHARLESTOWN. 

The military events of this period were rapidly drawing to a 
close. They involved no affairs of leading importance. Early 
in April, Marion recrossed the Santee river with a small force 
of two hundred militia and Maham's horse, reduced to one hun- 
dred and twenty. It was General Greene's wish that .he should 
take post as near as possible to the enemy, in order to straighten 
his limits beyond Cooper river, and to enable Colonel Laurens 
to pass the Ashley, and close upon the enemy between the lat- 
ter river and Goose creek. But, not being able to mount his 
infantry, it became necessary to take post on the Santee, at a 
point which would enable him to effect the double purpose of 
securing a retreat, and forming a junction with any party when 
necessary, either at Huger's bridge, over the west branch of 
Cooper river, from which he was twenty miles distant, or at 
Strawberry ferry, which was twenty-five from his position. His 
cavalry, meanwhile, patrolled the country within view of the 
enemy's posts at Haddrell and Hobcaw, to check the incursions 
of the British in that quarter, and obtain the earhest intelligence 
of their movements. 

To relieve himself once more from a neighbor who had al- 
ways proved so troublesome. General Leslie prevailed upon a 
Scotchman, under the feigned character of a deserter, to pene- 
trate the country into the settlements of the Scots loyalists, and 
persuade them to make such movements as would recall Marion 
to that quarter. The unfortunate agent, on his return from this 

1. What movement was made by Marion in tlie montli of April ? 2. What was the 
desire of General Greene? 3. Not being able to mount his infantry, where did be 
take post ? 4. How far distant was he from Cooper river ? 5. How far from Straw- 
berry ferry V G. Hoav was his eavalry meanwhile engaged ? 7. How did General Les- 
lie contrive to remove T^lariivn from sucli close neighborhood to his army? 



876 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

duty, was intercepted and executed by Marion. But he had 
done his v, ork ; the loyalists were excited, and under Major 
Gainey, of Pedee, a tory leader of considerable local celebrity, 
appeared in arms. 

Taking command of Maham's cavalry, Marion proceeded to 
" meet Gainey, who was an old and well-known opponent ; and 
one, like himself, who had a high reputation for his adroitness 
as a partisan warrior. Colonel Maham was too sick to accom- 
pany his command, and was left at his own place, attended by 
a small guard. Here he was captured by a daring young loy- 
alist, named Robbins, who had made a circuit and penetrated 
nearly sixty miles into the country with this object. Robbins 
was one of Cunningham's men, and Maham, from the known 
liostility of the loyalists to him, expected nothing but death at 
his hands. But Robbins, not having his superior with him, ex- 
hibited the natural generosity of a brave man, and parolled the 
sick captiA^e to his own house. 

The rapid progress of Marion, and his sudden appearance 
before Gainey, convinced the latter that his movement was not 
likely to be attended by any favorable results ; and the willing- 
ness of Marion to spare the unnecessary shedding of blood, fa- 
cilitated a pacification between the parties, and led to the re- 
newal of a treaty of neutralit}^, to which Gainey had bound 
himself the year before. To this treaty, ]Marion added a clause, 
permitting such of the loyalists as wished it, to retire with 
their property from the countr}'. These terms the tories were 
very ready to accept. They saw that they were about to be 
abandoned by the British, and yielded with the best grace to 
the necessity that pressed upon them. 

This insurrection had scarcely been quelled before the parti- 
san Avas summoned back to his former position. His absence 
had left the British at liberty to renew their depredations be- 
tween Cooper and Santee rivers ; and his infantry, under Colo- 

8. What was the fate of his eiuissary? 9. Under what leader did the tories rise in 
arms '.' 10. What movement was then made by Marion 1 11. Why did not Colonel 
Maham accompany him ? 12. What misfortune befell him at this time? 13. How 
was Colonel Maham treated by his captor? 14. What was the issue of Marion's ap- 
pearance before Major Gainey? 15. What clause was added to this treaty by 
Marion ? 



MARION. 377 

iiel Asliby, liad been compelled to retire before a superior foe. 
Pie was joined on his route by a newly raised corps, under Ma- 
jor Conyers, and, but for this timely aid, must have reached«his 
position alone, for the rapidity of his movements had broken 
down the corps of Maham, which he left behind him to recruit. 

At Murray's ferry, he halted to collect his militia and await 
the arrival of his weary cavalry. Here he consolidated the 
two commands of Maham and Conyers, and about the middle 
of July recrossed the Santee, at the head of a respectable body 
of horse and about three hundred dismounted cavalry. With 
these he took post on the Wassamasaw ; but had scarcely done 
so before he was compelled, by the movements of General Les- 
lie, to move immediately to Georgetown, against which place it 
was apprehended that a numerous fleet of small vessels, con- 
voyed by galleys and armed brigs, and conveying eight hundred 
men, which issued late in July from Charlestown, w-as intended 
to operate. 

To this place Marion hurried with his usual speed and spirit ; 
but the enterprise of the enemy was directed to another point, 
and he succeeded in sweeping from the banks of the Santee 
more than six hundred barrels of rice. A>gain was the force 
of Marion set in motion and thrown over the Sampit, to pre- 
vent the advance of the British upon Georgetown. In this he 
succeeded ; but it was utterly impossible to annoy them in their 
movements up the South Santee, and upon those plantations 
which they could plunder in safety, under the guns of their 
galleys. 

At their departure, he once more returned across the Santee, 
and took post at Wadboo, as the return of the enemy's fleet to 
Charlestown suggested the probability of their attempting some 
similar enterprise upon another of the rivers communicating 
with that city. Here a party of his infantry drew upon them- 
selves the attention of the British. They believed the infantry 

IG. What had occurred in the meantime to his infantry Avhich had been left under 
Colonel Asliby ? 17. What reinforcement did Marion receive on his route to rejoin 
the main army? IS. With what force did he recross the Santee? 19. Why did he 
move immediately to Georgetown ? 20. Whither was the enterprise of the enemy 
directed? 21. Wliat did he succeed in taking from the Santee? 22. What success 
attended Marion's farther movements? 23, Where did Marion now take post? 
24. With what object? 



378 HISTORY OP SOUTH CAROLINA. 

to be isolated. Knowing their cavalry to be with Marion, and 
ignorant of the rapidity of his return, they supposed him to be 
stiJl at Georgetown. Major Fraser, at the head of above one 
hundred British dragoons, advanced to surprise this party. 

It was not without some uneasiness that Marion prepared to 
receive the enemy. The greater part of his force, at this time, 
consisted of what were termed, in the language of that day, 
neiv-made whigs. They were men originally tories, who, in 
consequence of a judicious proclamation of Governor Rutledge, 
which offered pardon to all who would join the American forces 
within a limited time, had deserted from the British. 

But his uneasiness w^as misplaced. There could not have 
been a description of men more deeply interested in securing 
themselves against the British sabres. Not one of them, if taken, 
would have escaped military execution. Instead, therefore, of 
surprising the Americans, Fraser found them drawn out and 
ready to receive him. His charge was met with firm nerves 
and the keenest aim. A single fire terminated the action ; and 
it is seldom that a single fire has done equal execution on a like 
number of men. One officer, eight men, and five horses were 
killed ; three officers, eight men, and a number of horses wounded 
and taken. The Americans sustained no loss in men, but a very 
severe loss in ammunition. The driver of the wagon which 
contained it, or his horse, took fright during the engagement, and 
made off in a direction which revealed its flight to the enemy, 
by a small detachment of whom it was captured. Unhappily, 
Marion was destitute of his cavalry, who w^ere then patrolling 
the country below, and cavalry alone could have retrieved his 
loss. Five of his men, armed with the broad swords of the 
slain British, and mounted on as many captured horses, resolved 
upon the effort. They succeeded ; but the prize was again 
Avrested from their hands before they could reach the infantry, 
by the return of the enemy in force. 

25. What did the British suppose to be the condition of Marion's command ? — and 
where did they suppose it was? 26. Who advanced to surprise him? — and with what 
force ? 27. How was Marion's 'array at this time constituted ? 28. By what means had 
they been induced to join the American army? 29. What was the result of Major 
Fraser's attaclc ? 30. How many of the enemy were icilled, wounded, or taken ? 31. 
What loss was sustained by the Americans ? 32. How did they lose their ammuni- 
tion ? 3:3. How was the wagon rescued ? 34. By what means was it recaptured ? 



MARION. 379 

" It was certainly," remarks the historian, " the distinguishing 
attribute of Marion, always to extract good service from the 
militia. They thought themselves invincible under him ; and 
in the present instance, he declares that not a man faltered ; 
that he even had to check their anxiety to move out into the 
open field and receive the charge of the cavalry. But Marion's 
coolness never deserted him ; in the absence of his cavalry, a 
defeat would have been converted into a rout, and both corps 
would have been sacrificed in detail." 

Had his cavalry been present, the assailants must have been 
utterly cut to pieces. In an hour and a half after they had 
moved off, Major Conyers arrived with his horse, and went 
instantly in pursuit. But Major Fraser had by this time formed 
a junction with a detachment of infantry which had advanced 
to his support ; and, without ammunition, Marion was forced to 
retire once more toward the Santee. 

Greene, with half his army on the sick-list, could give him no 
vSuccor. Gist was employed upon the Combahee, in protecting 
that river from the foraging parties of the enemy ; and partial, 
indeed, would have been the securities of tlie American army, 
were it not that the troops of the British in Charlestown and the 
vicinity were in not much better condition. 

But events were approaching — brought about by the steady 
adherence of the Americans to their resolution of independence, 
in spite of privation, danger, and every form of suffering — 
which were at length calculated to give them relief from present 
evils, and a triumphant solace for all the past. Early in Sep- 
tember, Sir Samuel Hood arrived, with a convoying fleet, to 
cover the evacuation of the British from Charlestown. Major 
Fraser was recalled to the city, and Marion resumed his station 
at Wadboo. The light brigade, under General Gist, took a 
position, soon after it was formed, in advance of the army near 
the Stono. Colonel Laurens, who had been charged with con- 

85. Eepeat what is said of Marion. 36. What prevented the British from being cut 
to pieces in this battle? 37. Wliy was Marion finally forced to retire? 38. What 
pr ivenled General Greene from assisting liim ? 39. How was General Gist employed ? 
40. What occurred early In September ? 41. Major Fraser having been recalled to 
the city, M'here did Marion resume his station? 42. Where was General Gist's 
brigade stationed ? 43. What post was assigned to Colonel Laurens? 



380 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

ducting the intercourse with the corps of intelligence in Charles- 
town, had a guard assigned him, and placed himself without the 
pickets of the brigade and near to Wappoo creek. 

When General Gist was ordered to the southward, to protect 
the country on the Combahee from the foraging fleet of the 
enemy, General Greene did not think it advisable to withdraw 
Laurens from a post so highly confidential and important ; and, 
accordingly, issued no orders to the latter to join his brigade. 

But the ardor of Laurens was not to be restrained when the 
prospect was open for active operations against the foe. When 
made acquainted with the orders of Gist, " to strike at the 
enemy wherever he might meet them, he resolved to share in 
the enterprise ; and, rising from a sick-bed, he hurried after the 
brigade, which he overtook on the north bank of Combahee 
river, near the ferry. Colonel Laurens solicited from his com- 
mander an opportunity for immediate enterprise ; and, fatally 
fortunate in his application, he obtained his wish. 

The enemy had landed from their boats on the opposite side 
of the river, and the cavalry, under Major Call, had been ordered 
round by Salkehatchie bridge, to join the militia who had col- 
lected in that quarter. Twelve miles below the ferry, on the 
north side of the Combahee, the extreme end of Chehaw neck 
approaches the bed of the river, which generally, between these 
points, is bordered by extensive swamps and rice-fields. At 
this point, General Gist had ordered a work to be thrown up, 
for the purpose of annoying the enemy in their retreat, and the 
command of this post was conferred on Laurens. 

With fifty infantry, some matrosses, and a howitzer, he moved 
dov.'n the river on the evening of the 26th of August, near 
enough to take post at Chehaw point by the dawn of the fol- 
lowing day. At the place of Mrs. Stock he spent the night, in 
the enjoyment of company, and in the utterance of feelings and 
sentiments which heighten the melancholy interest of the fatal 

44. Eager to engage in active operations against llie enemy, where did Colonel 
.Laurens join the brigade? 4.5. "What request did he make of his commander? 46. 
Where had General Gist thrown up works for the purpose of annoying the enemy in 
their retreat ? 47. To whom did General Gist entrust the force sent against the enemy ? 
48. Wliat was the amount of this force ? 40. When did Colonel Laurens set out to take 
the command of his post at Chehaw ? 50. Where did he spend the night? 



LAURENS. 881 

event which closed his adventure. The warm hospitality of the 
lad}^ of the mansion, and the blandishments of female society, 
beguiled the time, and the company did not separate until two 
hours before the hour when the detachment was set in motion. 
The expected conflict was the subject of conversation, and the 
apprehensions of the ladies were soothed by the pleasant indif- 
ference with which he spoke of the event. 

At three o'clock he commenced his march, mounted and at 
the head of his detachment, altogether unsuspicious of danger, 
when the enemy was discovered. They had probably received 
some intelligence of the march of the detachment; and, landing 
on the north bank of the river, and pushing into the road that 
"communicates with the point, they had formed an ambuscade 
in a place covered with fennel and high grass, and were com- 
pletely concealed from sight, until they rose to deliver their fire 
upon the unsuspecting Americans. 

With the discovery of the British, the decision of Laurens 
was promptly taken. He saw that his only alternative against 
a shameful surrender, or a more dangerous if not more shameful 
retreat, was an energetic charge. This he instantly ordered, 
and, with characteristic courage, led the way. 

He fell at the first fire ; so did Captain Smith of the artillery ; 
and the men were thrown into confusion, and fled. The how- 
itzer fell into the enemy's hands, who pursued the flying infantry 
about a quarter of a mile, when they were met by General Gist. 
The pursuers fell back and drew up under cover of a wood, near 
the edge of the river. An attempt to dislodge them before the 
infantry came up, failed, and was attended with some loss. Their 
front was covered by logs and brush, so as to be inaccessible to 
cavalry, and in infantry they were superior to Gist's command. 

The loss of the British on this occasion is unknown. That 
of the Americans was very serious for so small a force; and in 
the death of Laurens the army lamented a tried and gallant 
soldier ; the country an unshrinking, unsleeping patriot. Greene, 
in a letter, speaks of him in this language : 

51. How was he surprised on his march the next day by the enemy ? 52. What was 
the fate of Colonel Laurens? 53. What otiier officer likewise fell? 54. By whom 
were t!ie flying infantry met in their retreat ? 55. Which party suffered the greatest 
loss in lliis engagement? 56. W^hat character is given of Colonel Laurens? 



382 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

" Poor Laurens has fallen in a paltry little skirmish. You 
knew his temper, and I predicted his fate. The love of military 
glory made him seek it upon occasions unworthy his rank. The 
state will feel his loss." 

His body was deposited in the earth at the plantation of Mrs. 
Stock, " where," says the biographer of Greene, " a small en- 
closure of the simplest structure seems to excite, not answer, 
the inquiry, ' What undistinguished stranger Hes buried here?'" 

From the Combahee river, the British passed into the Broad, 
successively ascending the streams which communicate with that 
river, and carrying off all the provision and live stock which they 
could collect. From thence they put into Port Royal, and laid 
the islands of Beaufort and St. Helena under contribution. It 
was in vain that Greene, with the feeble army which he com- 
manded, sought to cover and protect these places. A country 
of vast extent, intersected with streams and marshes, easy of 
entrance, and quite as easy of egress, was liable to insult at a 
thousand quarters, to which the guardian eye could not extend 
nor the guardian wing give shelter. Still, the attempt was every- 
where made, with a promptness and energy which only needed 
corresponding resources to have been everywhere successful. 

General Gist pursued the British with all dihgence to Port 
Royal ferry, where he found two of their galleys. Having 
opened a field-piece upon them, he soon compelled them, to shp 
their cables and attempt to make off. In this attempt one of 
them, the Balfour, of two double nines, ran aground, and was 
abandoned by her crew. They spiked her guns and scuttled 
her before their departure ; but their work was performed with 
too much hurry to be effectual. She was easily repaired; and 
under the command of Lieutenant Adams, with a picked crew 
of twenty-five men, did excellent service afterward in defending 
these waters from the picaroons which at that time infested 
them. 

Gist rejoined the main army after the expulsion of the British 

57. From the Combahee river, whither did the British pass? 58. What did they 
efifect there ? 59. Wliither did they pass from thence ? 60. Why could not General 
Greene protect these places ? 61. Whither did General Gist pursue the British ? 62. 
How did he become possessed of one of their galleys V 6-3. To what service was it 
afterward applied ? 64. What is further said of General Gist? 



EVACUATION OF CHARLESTOWN. 383 

from Beaufort, and his brigade, from this period to the close of 
the war, remained inactive ; and the same may almost be said 
of the entire army, with very few and unimportant exceptions. 

The British had retired under the guns of their redoubts, and 
no longer sought occasion for conflict. Their operations were 
confined chiefly to the collection of cattle and provisions for their 
contemplated voyage. The Americans traversed the Neck in 
the face of their fortifications, and Kosciusko, the famous Polish 
exile, who had succeeded to Colonel Laurens in the command 
of the advanced light troops before the enemy's lines, still farther 
abated their desire for adventure by the audacity of his frequent 
approaches. 

The last blood shed in the American war was that of Captain 
Wilmot, of the Americans, who, with a small command, contin- 
ued to cover John's island, and watch the passage by the Stono. 
Impatience of inactivity, and a love of adventure, led Wilmot 
frequently to cross the river, and harass the enemy's parties on 
John's island. In one of these excursions, undertaken in con- 
junction with Kosciusko, against a party of the British wood- 
cutters, he fell into an ambuscade and was killed. 

Meanwhile, General Leslie was pressing his preparations for 
the final evacuation of Charlestown. Greatly constrained and 
distressed in that limited position by the cordon which, in spite 
of all his weakness, the American general had contrived to 
maintain around his foe, Leslie adopted a series of providential 
measures which somewhat lightened his embarrassments. He 
relieved himself of great numbers of unnecessary consumers in 
the garrison, by suffering the loyalists to leave his camp and 
make their peace with their countrymen — a privilege of which 
hundreds readily availed themselves. 

Another measure, of equally good policy, was his expulsion 
from the city of all those who were alleged to favor the Amer- 
ican cause. This measure was ingeniously calculated to furnish 

65. To what were the operations of the British now chiefly confined? 66. Who bad 
now succeeded Colonel Laurens in. the command of the American light troops? 67. 
Whose was the last blood shed in this war ? 68. Where was Captain Wilmot stationed ? 
69. What were the circumstances of his death? 70. What preparations was General 
Leslie now making? 71. How did he relieve his garrison of several hundred unne- 
cessary consumers? 72. What other similar measure did he adopt ? 



384 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

a pretext to many, wlio, having neglected to avail themselves 
of the benefits of the governor's proclamation, were necessarily 
dependent only on the mercy of the country. The harsh com- 
mand of expulsion from the British camp, seemed to give them 
some claim to the indulgence of their countrymen. 

Having levelled the walls of the town and of Fort Johnson, 
the British commander opened a communication with General 
Greene, apprising him of the intended evacuation, and proposing 
terms in order that his departure might be a peaceable one. An 
arrangement accordingly followed, by which the Americans were 
to take possession as the enemy's rear-guard retired ; the former 
pledging themselves to forbear all hostile attempts upon the move- 
ments of the British, on condition that they should do no injury 
to the city. 

On Saturday, the 14th of December, 1782, this event took 
place. Tiie morning gun was the signal for the British rear- 
guard to abandon their advanced redoubts. General Wayne, at 
the head of three hundred infantry, the cavalry of the legion, a 
detachment of artillery with two six-pounders, having been de- 
tached from the American army, had crossed Ashley river the 
night before, and was stationed in readiness to follow the enemy's 
movements. 

At the sound of the morning gun the two parties were put in 
motion, at an assigned distance asunder of two hundred yards. 
They moved down the King-street road, till they had passed the 
lines, when the British filed off to Gadsden's wharf, where they 
embarked in boats which awaited them. 

" It was a grand and pleasing sight," says General Moultrie 
in his memoirs, " to see the enemy's tleet, upwards of three hun- 
dred sail, lying at anchor from Fort Johnson to Five Fathom 
Hole, in a curve line, as the current rung ; and what made it 
more agreeable, they were ready to depart." 



73. Having levelled the walls of the town, and of Fort Johnson, what communica- 
tion was made by the British commander to General Greene ? 74. What arrangement 
was effected between them ? 75. W^hen M'as Charlestown evacuated by the British ? 
76. Who commanded the American detacliment which entered the city as tlie enemy 
retired ? 77. What was the stipulated distance between his troops and the British 
rear ? 78. By what route did the enemy retire ? 79. What does General Moultrie say 
of the fleet ? 



EVACUATION OF CHARLESTOWN. 385 

The reluctance of the one party to leave, and the impatience 
of the other to succeed tliem in the possession of the city, led the 
British, now and then during the march, to cry aloud to General 
Wayne that he was pressing too rapidly upon them. On such 
occasions, the halt imposed upon the Americans was a short trial 
of their patience. 

Well might the Carolinians be impatient to behold those dear 
homes from which they had been so long exiled. Wayne moved 
forward, and halted on the south side of Broad street, nearly 
opposite to Church. In the rear of the American advance, came 
the governor of the state, attended by General Greene, and 
escorted by two hundred cavalry. His council, and long troops 
of officers and citizens, followed on horseback. Smiling faces 
and joyful voices saluted the deliverers as ihey came. The 
balconies and windows were crowded with the aged men, the 
women, and the children, who for nearly three years had wept 
with apprehension and sorrow the absence and the loss of dear 
sons, affectionate brothers, and warm friends. Their tears now 
were those only of joy and of triumph. " God bless you, gentle- 
men ; God bless you, and welcome, welcome home." 

Such were the sweet words which hailed the long-banished 
citizens, and the long-suffering soldiery of Greene. In tears, in 
silence, and on bended knees, the full hearts of the rescued 
citizens found utterance that blessed day. The state was at last 
free from the defiling presence of the invader, never, we trust, 
to suffer again from his painful scourge and humiliating arro- 
gance and footstep ! 

80. Can you describe the entrance of General "Wayne ? 

17 



386 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

CLOSING SCENES OF THE WAR PEACE OF PARIS 

SUMMARY. 

The day after the restoration of Oharleslown to the Ameri- 
can authorities, the British fleet put to sea. If the joy of the 
Carohnians was great in once more resuming possession of their 
metropolis, the sorrows of the British on leaving it were com- 
paratively greater. It had been for more than two years the 
scene in which they had played their several parts of power 
without restraint. Every passion of the tyrant had they shown 
in turn ; haughty scorn, contemptuous hate, reckless lust, and 
griping and grinding avarice. They had trampled upon its 
sensibilities, shed its best blood in wantonness, and gleaned it of 
its treasures. The last lingering hour of their stay was distin- 
guished by the ravages of a spirit still as greedy of gain as 
they had shown at their first coming. Thousands of slaves, 
stolen from the plantations, swelled the flying train of the Brit- 
ish officers. For these the spoilers ultimately found a profit- 
able market in the West Indies. The share of Lieutenant- 
Colonel MoncriefF, alone, is stated to have been no less than 
eight hundred negroes. 

But this last robbery of the invaders sinks into insignificance, 
when compared with their frequent plunder of the same spe- 
cies of property during the first year of their conquest. It has 
been computed that South Carolina, alone, lost by these robber- 
ies no less than twenty-five thousand negroes. The losses of 
Georgia and North Carolina were proportionately great. 

The reluctance of the invaders to leave the metropolis of 
Carolina, showed itself even more conclusively in the number 

t. "When did the British fleet put to sea? 2. How did they dispose of the negroes? 
8. How many slaves were stolen from South Carolina by the invaders? 



CLOSING SCENES OF THE WAR. 387 

of deserters whom they left behind them. Hundreds emerged 
from cellars, chimneys, and other hiding-places, as soon as the 
certain absence of their army made it ?afe to do so. Scarcely 
a Hessian went back but under compulsion ; and thousands pre- 
pared to encounter every danger of ill treatment from a people 
whom they had wronged, rather than return to a standard to 
which they had been sold by their mercenary sovereigns. 

Among the deserters, the Irish were particularly numerous. 
Their desertions were so frequent, long before the war had been 
brought to an issue, that their officers ceased entirely to confide 
in them; and it is not improbable that the inactivity of General 
Stewart when at Orangeburg, and the subsequent imbecility 
which seemed to mark the proceedings of the commander while 
in garrison, arose rather from doubts of the fidelity of the troops 
than from their sickness or any other^of the alleged causes. 

The treaty of peace between the respective commissioners of 
America and Great Britain, very happily, soon followed the 
evacuation, and relieved the country from other evils, scarcely 
less serious than those which came with a state of actual war- 
fare. The southern army, thrown for its support entirely upon 
South Carolina, soon exhausted the few remaining resources of 
the province, and the patience of the people. The state be- 
came indignant at this charge, when it was known how much it 
had already contributed, and how much more than any of its 
sisters it had suffered for three tedious years. 

The army, seemingly abandoned by Congress, and having 
got from South Carolina all that she was able to give, proceeded 
to collect its food at the point of the bayonet. The state au- 
thorities — John Mathews being governor — became alarmed 
and angry ; and their resolution to prevent the exercise of any 
further purveyance, increased the rage and suflfering of the starv- 
ing soldiery. 

General Gist, who was in command at James's island, could 
no longer restrain his men. The cavalry at the Eutaw broke 

4. What circumstance shows the rehictance of the British soldiers to depart? 5. 
Which of the troops were most forward to desert? G. What event followed the evac- 
uation of Charlestown? 7/ How did the southern army proceed to collect food, after 
the resources of South Carolina failed? 



388 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

out into actual mutiny, and were brought back to their duty 
only by the eloquent entreaties and reproaches of their com- 
mander. To such a height did the discontents arise, that Gen- 
eral Greene, on one occasion, was compelled to select and draw 
out in order of battle, from the sound parts of his army, a suffi- 
cient force to keep the rest in subjection. These were all con- 
tinental troops. The militia had been disbanded some time 
before without pay, and with a very cavalier disregard to their 
services and sufferings. The tidings of peace, as they led to 
the disbanding of the army, relieved the fears of the country, 
and in some degree the sufferings of the soldier. He could 
now return to those homes and happy anticipations from which 
the calls of his country had so long withdrawn him. He had 
reason to rejoice in the beams of peace, though it is feared that 
thousanrls who survived the strife, received but a small share 
of the blessings for which they strove in war. A tardy justice 
on the part of the nation has sought to compensate them for 
their wounds and sufferings ; but the secret consciousness of 
their desert has been, perhaps, their greatest and best reward. 

Provisional articles of peace were signed at Paris on the IStli 
of November, 1782, by which the king of Great Britain ac- 
knowledged " the United States of New Hampshire, Massa- 
chusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, 
Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Yii'ginia, North Carolina, 
South Carolina, and Georgia, to be free, sovereign and inde- 
pendent states ; that he treated with them as such ; and for him- 
self, his heirs and successors, relinquished all claims to the gov- 
ernment, proprietary and territorial rights of the same." 

The termination of the revolutionary war, resulting as it did 
in the unrestrained and individual sovereignty of the several 
states engaged in it, left South Carolina free to the adoption of 
her own plans of government, her laws and domestic policy. 
Her people, with that elastic temper which had distinguished 

8. To what measure was General Greene eompellod? 9. What is said of llie dis- 
banding of the militia? 10. How were the sufferings of the soldiers at last relieYed? 
11. AVhen were provisional articles of peace signed ? 12. What was then the number 
of the states? 13. Name them. 14. W^hat declaration was made with regard to these 
states bv the king of Great Britain? 15. Wiiat was South Carolina now i';\'r to 'lu'.- 



CLOSING SCENES OF THE WAR. 389 

them from the beginning, soon set tliemselves to work to repair 
the disasters occasioned by the long and painful conflict Avhich 
has been just recorded, and to remedy those defects in their so- 
cial and political condition wliich it developed. In this object 
it was fortunate for the country that the moderation with w^hich 
the republicans regarded and treated the loyalists, led to the 
hearty co-operation, in all leading respects, of these lately hos- 
tile parties. The greater part of the exiled tories were permit- 
ted to return, by legislative enactment, and, under some tem- 
porary disabiKties and small fines, were restored to citizenship. 
Though laboring under an immense debt, the state generously 
restored to the late owners half a million of pounds sterling of 
confiscated property in actual possession. 

The history of that common bond of union, by w^hich South 
Carolina became one of a community of states, must be looked 
for in another volume. To new-model the constitution of the 
state, in conformity with that of the United States, a convention 
of her people was called in 1790. The constitution then adopted 
recognised the following elements : that all power comes from 
the people, and is to be exercised for their benefit ; that they 
are bound by no laws but such as are sanctioned by their rep- 
resentatives ; that all are equally subject to the laws ; that no 
freeman can be taken, or imprisoned, or deprived of his prop- 
erty, or exiled, or in any manner destroyed or deprived of life, 
liberty, privilege, or possessions, but by the judgment of his 
peers, or by the law of the land. It also guarantied freedom 
of conscience in matters of faith and religion. 

These principles of liberty and equality w^hich pervade the 
constitution, are impressed upon the laws of the state, wdiich 
were made in compliance with them. Under these laws the 
people have prospered, and have been blessed with great in- 
crease for the last seventy years. A mild and indulgent govern- 
ment, with small taxation ; a fruitful country, and the produc- 
tion of commodities wdiich form the staples of consumption for 

IT). In what raanner were tlie loj^alists treated by the republicans? IT, What prop- 
erty did the state restore to them? IS. For what purpose was a convention of the 
people held? 19. In what year was it called ? 20. What principles were recognised 
b.v tlie constitution then adopted ? 21. What has been for seventy years the condition 
of this state ? 



390 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

millions, and the use of wliich is rapidly increasing, encourage 
the citizen in his labor and reward him for it. But few inter- 
ruptions have occurred in the progress of the state to prosper- 
ity. Religion and education have kept corresponding pace with 
the progress of agriculture among the people. Public works 
of great value and cost, in every section of the country, mark 
the watchful care of an intelligent legislature. 

The numbers of the people of South Carolina, which in 
1765 were but one hundred and twenty-three thousand of all 
descriptions, are now (in 1859) about seven hundred thousand; 
and this increase has been constant and progressive, though 
thousands of her sons have colonized the rich fields of Ala- 
bama, Mississippi, and the fertile regions beyond. 

Nor is the prosperity of South Carolina marked only by 
affluence in wealth and increase of numbers at home. Her 
sons have always held a leading rank in the estimation of 
the Union. Their counsels have been no less acknowledged 
for, than distinguished by, wisdom. Their character has been 
unexceptionable and blameless. Spotless in integrity, they 
have not been wanting in that honorable ambition which seeks 
the high places of responsibility ; and in stations of the high- 
est trust they have shown themselves equally adequate to their 
tasks and worthy of their honors. Her jewels, indeed, have 
been always as brilliant as they were numerous ; and though 
one of the smallest states, in a territorial point of view, in the 
Union, her moral weight has ever given her a distinguished 
attitude in the councils and performances of the whole coun- 
h'j. Her chronicle of great names is unusually copious. Her 
Dray tons, Pinckneys, Rutledges, Middletons, and Gadsdens, as 
educated men, no less than statesmen and patriots, were always 
in the first rank ; and the long list which follows, and which 
should be fixed firmly in the memory of her sons, is of itself a 
column of glory to her name which shall for ever preserve it, 
amid all the vicissitudes of power, and in defiance of all the 

22. IIoAv is the labor of the citizen encouraged and rewarded? 23. What was the 
population of the state in 1TG5? 24. What is it now (1859)? 25. How have Caro- 
linians always ranked? 20. TTow does Soutli Carolina compare with the other statea 
in extent of territory? 27. What position has she procured by her moral weight? 
23. Who aro named among hor statesmen and patriots? 



CLOSING SCENES OF THE WAR. 391 

devastating effects of time. Moultrie and Marion, Sumter, 
Laurens, Ilorrj, Pickens, Williams, the Hammonds, and hun- 
dreds more, who distinguished themselves equally in civil and 
military affairs during the war, were all remarkable men ; and, 
more recently, the names of other renowned and mighty men 
furnish a record as glorious, which fvilly proves that the exam- 
ple of the past has not been chronicled in vain. 

One lesson, in chief, may be gleaned, among many otherSj 
from this imperfect story of the past. It is that which teaches 
the citizen to cling to the soil of his birth in the day of its diffi- 
culty, with the resolution of the son who stands above the grave 
of a mother and protects it from violation. This will be a 
safe rule for the citizen, whatever may be the cause of war 
or the character of the invader. Opinion hourly fluctuates and 
changes ; public policy is of all things the most uncertain and 
capricious ; and the pretexts of ambition suggest a thousand 
subtle combinations of thought and doctrine, upon which the 
human mind would depend with doubt and difficulty. 

But the resolves of a decided majority, in all questions of 
public expediency or policy, assumed as the voice of the soil, 
would be the course equally of patriotism and safety. Thi^ 
rule, preserved i-n memory and maintained as a principle, would 
unite a people and make them invincible. The thunders and 
the threatenings of the foe would die away, unharming, in the 
distance. Unanimity among our citizens will always give them 
unconquerable strength, and invasion will never again set hos- 
tile foot on the shores of our country. 

29. Who were conspicuous in the field ? 80. What lesson may be learned from this 
history? Kepeat the concluding paragraphs. 



BOOK VI. 

SUPPLEMENTARY. 



CHAPTEE LAST. 

FROM THE CLOSE OF THE WAR OF THE REVOLUTION TO THE 
PRESENT TIME — 1782 TO I860. 

With the exciting issues, doubts, dangers, trials of strength 
and passion, which constituted the chief interest in that long 
narrative of war through which we have ■ gone, we have no 
more to deal. Such crises, in the affairs of a people, are, per- 
haps, ordeals of training and preparation ; ordeals of fire ; by 
which they are to be at once purified for a great service, and a 
goodly development of moral strength and stature. It is, per- 
haps, essential to every people, that they should, at some period 
or other, go through some such ordeal. At all events, whether 
necessary or not, such has usually been the great necessity of 
every great nation, at some early era in its progress. Even if 
the Deity does not decree the necessity, as one of his own cho- 
sen and imperative processes for trying the strength and sinews 
of his people, it is yet very certain that, in the avarice, inso- 
lence, and restless ambition of men, there will be found always 
some portions of the human family prepared to make war a hu- 
man necessity ! Nations are required to accept it as one of the 
evil conditions inseparate from the assertion of their rights, their 
liberties, and independence. 

From the record comprised in the preceding pages, we have 
seen that no people of this country — perhaps, of any country — 
no state in this Confederacy — ever bore up more manfully, 
under such an accumulation of evils, than did the little state and 
people of South Carolina. One of the feeblest of the British col- 



FROM 1782 TO I860, 393 

onies in America, with a small and scattered population, easily 
accessible to tlie invader from the sea ; bordered, in the interior, 
by vast wildernesses, filled with savage men ; her own. popula- 
tion, in large proportion, foreign by birth, and totally incapable 
of realizing, for themselves, that idea of independence of all for- 
eign rule, which constituted the chief dream, desire, and earnest 
purpose of her leading native intellects ; it may readily be con- 
ceived that her trials would be, in the last degree, severe ; her 
fortunes liable to every sort of caprice ; her plains overrun ; 
her sons overpowered; her homes despoiled; and that there 
must be moments of exhaustion, of extreme and accumulated 
misfortunes, w^hen her constancy would be shaken, and when 
her heart would sink within her, almost hopeless of the future, 
and disposed to doubt the legitimacy of her desire to maintain 
herself a sovereign and independent state. But she survived 
these despondencies ; strove through all ; and emerged, finally, 
from the trial, bleeding at all her veins, but with the grand pas- 
sion of her soul attained ! She had won her liberties by her 
constancy and faith ; her valor, and the patriotic pride, which 
enabled her to endure privation without complaint, and to meet 
danger and death without a fear. 

She is compensated. The danger is passed ; and she is now 
required to meet more arduous necessities, if not more perilous, 
by endeavoring to establish her liberties, on a firm foundation, 
consistently with the enlarged and growing civilization of the 
age, chastened by the recognition of the paramount claims of 
morals and religion. 

, The history of her progress, in this duty, is one not calculated 
to enlist the active sympathies of those who desire the excite- 
ments of war, and revel only in the strong interests and crises 
which belong to the violent collision of hostile passions. 

As one of the confederated states of the great American Con- 
federacy, South Carolina can assert no exclusive right to the 
achievements of the nation; and these, luckily for 'the national 
happiness and security, have been cfonquests of peace and soci- 
ety, rather than o£ anarchy and war. Whatever have been 
the trials and troubles of the Confederacy, she has shared 
them only as one of many ; and the details which belong to our 

17* 



394 HISTORY OP SOUTH CAROLINA. 

common history, as a nation, must be sought for in other vol- 
umes. In her individual career, however, or in the part she 
has taken in the affairs of the Confederacy, it will be found that 
she has been invariably true to the great jarinciples which actu- 
ated her throughout the Eevolution, and from the earliest 
periods of her colonial foundation. 

She has taken a patriotic share in the burdens of the nation ; 
she has contributed some of the bravest soldiers, the ablest 
statesmen, and the noblest warriors, to its fields and councils, 
and has never shrunk from any social or national responsibil- 
ity ; has kept faith with her sister sovereigns, and has main- 
tained a proverbially jealous watch over the common constitu- 
tion of the country, which the wisdom of her great revolutionary 
sires contributed to devise, as embodying the best securities 
equally of state and people. 

Nor has she been heedless of those interests of morals, edu- 
cation, and social virtue ; manners, conduct, and society ; which, 
perhaps, constitute more precious securities, for human liberty, 
than law has ever been able to devise. Her progress in civili- 
zation, in arts, and arms, is to be found written on her fields 
and cities, as well as in the records of the national performance. 
She has been steadily advancing in all those pursuits wdiich are 
found to bring prosperity to a people, and to train them to a 
due sense of their social responsibilities, their vital duties, and 
interests. 

But, before this progress could be w^ell begun, she had domes- 
tic troubles to overcome, ^vhich were of a sort to vex the human 
and social sense almost to despair ; and, at times, to render faint 
the hopes and energies of the best statesmanship. Covered 
witli scars and glory, with scores of able and thoughtful leaders, 
military and civil, the termination of the Revolutionary war 
found her a wreck in fortune, and with a country most terribly 
demoralized by the progress of a long war, which had witnessed 
the total ruin of all her homesteads, and the disruption, every- 
where, of the bonds of society. Wild passions had been let loose, 
and had fed on blood and rapine, for too long a season to be 
soon brought into subjection. The peace w^ith Great Britain 
brought no absolute peace to her scattered communities, which 



FROM 1782 TO 1860. 395 

sometimes glared on each other with the eager ferocity of the 
tiger. Lawless men traversed her forest-paths, for a time, with 
violence and impunity. Desperadoes, whom war and rapine 
had taught all their lessons, raged, torch in hand, around quiet 
and defenceless habitations. The old feuds of whig and tory 
were still unsatisfied. Old revenges were perpetually rising up 
to renew the bloody scenes of former seasons ; and, in some 
instances, the loyalist, notorious for crimes committed during 
the war, though discharged by court and jury, has been seized 
upon by a still infuriated people, and dragged, in the very 
presence of the judge, to the halter and the tree, allowed " short 
shrift," and shorter cord, and launched into eternity, in spite of 
the general amnesty proclaimed by the government. It required 
many years before the Avild passions which had been stimulated 
by the bloody civil feuds of the Revolution, could be restrained 
by the arm of law, or subdued and soothed by the gentler offices 
of religion. 

But we must proceed to illustrate this summary by details. 
We have seen that John Rutledge, governor and dictator of the 
state, during the most arduous period of the struggle in the war, 
gracefully yielded up his trust, in 1782, at the convention of 
the General Assembly at Jacksonboro. He could then properly 
do so, the war being entirely at an end. The venerable patriot, 
Christopher Gadsden, was chosen to succeed him. 

This brave old man declined the office, pleading his age and 
growing infirmities. He had shown himself one of the most 
forward, persevering, and earnest of the great men of the Revo- 
lution ; had commanded in the military, led in the council, and 
was one of the prisoners of war to the British, under the capit- 
ulation of Charlestown. Violating his securities as such, the 
British governor in Carolina put him in close imprisonment, 
with forty of the chief citizens of Charlestown, with whom he 
was sent to the castle of St. Augustine. These citizens were 
kept as hostages for the good behavior of the rest of the people, 
who were suspected of insurrectionary movements. Here, at 
St. Augustine, with his health suffering from close confinement, 

1. When and where did John Eutledge resign his office of governor ? 2. Wlio was 
chosen to succeed him ? S. What is said of Gadsden ? 



396 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

in his old age, Gadsden amused himself by a study of the He- 
brew lanouao:e. "VYhen restored to his home, in the decline of 
life, he might well reject the office tendered him, on the plea 
which he made for refusing it. The tribute was due to his 
noble character and great services. 

John Mathews was chosen to tlie office. He, too, had shown 
himself a patriot of the Revolution ; was a man of ability, with 
a stern sense of what was due to the dignity of the state. He 
was soon after embroiled in a controversy with General Greene, 
representing the army, as we have glimpsed at in preceding 
pages. Abstractly, the governor was right, and the course 
which he took, in resisting the exactions of a soldiery who were 
no longer necessary to the country, was required by his oath 
of office as governor of the state. But the case was an excep- 
tional one, and- required some allowances. The army should 
have been disbanded, like the militia, with the withdrawal of 
the foreign enemy. But, while the militia were sent adrift, at 
the various places where the peace found them — not permitted 
to behold the pageant, when the British withdrew, and the 
Americans marched into the city — the continentals were not 
to be so summarily dismissed. There were large arrearages to 
be paid them, for which Congress had made no preparation. 
They were destitute of means. The granaries of South Caro- 
lina had been their only source of supply for three years, and 
South Carolina was measurably exhausted. She had no money 
— no means of raising it. To support the soldiery, her only 
process was to drag the provisions from the stores of her own 
citizens ; and these, drained of their supplies during the war, 
were naturally tenacious of all that the British had left them. 
Governor Mathews had no right to assess the citizens for the 
support of the soldiery, and, as governor, that which he might 
not do himself, he was bound to see should not be done by any 
other authority. For the details of the controversy between 
himself and Greene, see Johnson's life of that general. 

The assembly which elected IMathews governor, proceeded 

4. Who succeeded Gadsden ? 5. What is said of him ? 6. In what controversy 
was he embroiled ? 7. What was the condition of the continental troops? 8. What 
resources had South Carolina at this time V 9. What did the assembly proceed 
to do? 



FROM 1782 TO 1860. 397 

to supply all the vacancies in the different departments of ofRce, 
and to re-establish all the branches of civil government. The 
governor was empowered, as had been his predecessor, to " do 
all matters and things which are judged expedient and necessary 
to secure the liberty, safety, and happiness of the state." The 
times were still too unruly — the British were still present — 
and the dictatorship was a necessary adjunct of the duty of an 
executive. 

Laws were passed for the confiscation of the estates of tories, 
and for banishing from the country such as were active and 
decided friends of the British ; also, for amersing the estates 
of others, who were less offensive, and in lieu of their personal 
services, which had been withheld from the country. Two 
hundred and thirty-seven persons, or estates, were included in 
the first of these classes, and forty-eight in the last. From these 
numbers, it may be conjectured with some safety, what was the 
real proportion of the old or native population which was found 
wanting to the country in the day of her trial. These enact- 
ments were afterwards modified or repealed, by the terms of 
the evacuation of Charlestown, as may be seen in previous 
pages. The mood of the conquerors naturally became more 
indulgent to the vanquished, in proportion as they felt the 
security of the infant republic. 

In 1783, Benjamin Guerard, of Charlestown, was made gov- 
ernor. He, too, had been a tried patriot during the Revolution. 
During his administration, Charlestown was incorporated, and 
called " Charleston^ The town of Stateburg was founded about 
the same time, by General Sumter; and — a more significant 
beginning — cotton began to be cultivated for export, though 
still on a limited scale. 

In 1785, William Moultrie was elected to the executive chair ; 
of him and his revolutionary career, we have already made full 
report. Moultrie, like Gadsden, had been kept as a British 

10. What laws were passed affecting the tories ? 11. How many persons or estates 
were included in these two classes'? 12. Was there subsequently any modification 
of these laws? 13. Who succeeded Mathews as governor ? — and when? 14. "What 
is said of him ? 15. What noticeable event occurred during his administration ? 16, 
What town was founded by General Sumter? 17. Which 6f the ^reat staples began 
to be cultivated about this time ? 18. Who was the next governor ? — and when was 
he elected ? 19, What had been his fate during the war ? 



398 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

prisoner, almost from the fall of Charlestown to the close of the 
war. The South had constant reason to complain, that in the 
exchange of prisoners with the enemy, the North had the pref- 
erence always. See, on this subject, Graydon's (Pennsylvania) 
Memoirs. Moultrie's own Memoirs of the Revolution are of 
great value, as the evidence of an eye-witness of most that he 
relates, and frequently as a most conspicuous actor in the event. 

We are told that during this administration the Methodists 
first made their appearance in Carolina as a religious fraternity. 
It is probable that some few of them had been in the state before, 
and, indeed, as far back as the time of Wesle)^, in Georgia. The 
town of Columbia was located during Moultrie's term, and or- 
dered to be laid out as the seat of government of the state, 
which it continues to be — a beautiful situation on the banks of 
the Congaree, approached on every hand by railroads, and re- 
markable for its polish, intelligence, and growing population. It 
is the seat of the State College also, of the Lunatic Asylum, the 
Theological College, and several other educational establish- 
ments. 

Thomas Pinckney, of Charleston, was elected governor in 
1787. He, too, had distinguished himself in the Revolution, 
and had been severely wounded in the battle of Camden. He 
was subsequently a major-general in the armies of the United 
States in Florida and Georgia ; but his merits did not solely lie 
in the military line. He had been educated in Europe, and was 
one of the best read and most accomplished scholars of his day 
in Carolina. At the opening of the Revolution, he, with his 
brother, Charles Cotesworth, and, indeed, most of the sons of 
the wealthier families in South Carolina, were educated at. 
British schools and universities ; and it is probable that few men 
on tlie American continent could approacli them in the pro- 
fundity, grace, and finish, of their acquisitions. Subsequently, 
Charles Cotesworth was, with many, a favorite candidate for the 
presidential office. 

20. Of what had the South reason to complain? 21. When did the Methodists first 
make their appearance as a religions sect in South Carolina? 22. AVhat town was 
located during Moultrie's term? — and what is said of it? 23. What state institutions 
aro located here? 24. Who was the next governor ? — and when was he elected? 
25. What is said of him ? — what of his brother ? 



FROM 1789 TO 1860. 399 

During Mr. Pinckney's administration, the Instalment law 
of the state was passed ; the last attempt in South Carolina, 
says the chronicler, to interfere between creditor and debtor. 
The last instalment was made payable March 25, 1793. Cler- 
mont parish was established in the same year. 

In 1789, Charles Pinckney succeeded as governor. He was 
of Charleston, a man of brilliant abilities, and subsequently the 
American minister to Spain. The state records were removed 
to Columbia this year. That town was gradually taking form 
and seeming. The first session of the assembly met there in 
January, 1790 ; and there the present constitution of the state 
was ratified, June 3, of the same year. 

Meanwhile, the population of the whole state had been grow- 
ing with remarkable increase, especially in the upper country. 
New settlers came from Pennsylvania, from Virginia, and North 
Carolina ; British traders began to re-occupy the old places, 
and, the rancor of civil strife having subsided, the banished 
royalists reappeared in familiar haunts, without having the 
terrors of the halter in their eyes. When, in 1790, the census 
of the United States was taken, the population of South Caro- 
lina had reached a fraction less than 250,000. The white 
population had swollen to 140,178. The slaves and free colored 
were 108,900. 

In 1792, Arnoldus Vanderhorst, of Charleston, was made 
governor. He, also, had distinguished himself as a patriot and 
soldier of the Revolution. 

During his administration, the law was passed abolishing 
the old British statute, the right of primogeniture, and an equal 
distribution was granted of the property of intestates. The 
Roman Catholics were organized into a church. May 2, 1791. 
The Orphan House Asylum, a noble charity, was established 

26. What measures were passed during his administration? 27. Who succeeded 
him? — and when? 28. What is said of Charles Pinckney? 29. "When was the 
pi-esent constitution of tlio state ratified? — and where? 80. What is said of tlie 
increase of population in the state? -SI. AVhat was the whole number of inhabitants 
in 1790? 32. How many whites? 33. How many blacks? 34. Who was elected 
governor in 1792? 35. W^iiat is said of him? 86. What important law was passed 
during his administration ? 37. When were tiie Roman Catholics first organized into 
a ciiureli in tlie state? 2S. What institution was established in Charleston at this 
time? 



400 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

(1792) in Charleston, where it now maintains and educates some 
three hundred' orphans, of both sexes. 

The year 1791 was distinguished in South Carolina, by the 
visit of General Washington, making the tour of the Southern 
states. He was received with heartfelt enthusiasm ; vi.sited the 
public and military works ; and expressed the warmest gratifi- 
cation at what he saw. On leaving Charleston, for Savannah, 
lie was escorted by Governor Yanderhorst, Generals Moultrie, 
Pinckney, and many other eminent citizens. 

In 1792, the city of Charleston was fatally visited by yellow 
fever, which held sway for nearly four months, and carried off 
one hundred and sixty-live victims, mostly foreigners. The 
Instalment law expired with the last payment, March 25, 1793. 
In this year, the Santee canal, uniting the San tee with the 
Cooper river — a stupendous work at that period — was begun. 

In 1794, William Moultrie became, for the second time, gov- 
ernor of the state. The year was noted for a large increase in 
the cultivation of cotton. 

The 27th of February, of the year 1795, was marked by the 
death of the famous partisan. General Francis Marion. He 
died at his residence, St. .John's parish, in his sixty-third year. 
His biography has been frequently Avritten. His performances 
are Vv^ell known, and constitute a history of which his country 
will long be proud. Retiring from the field at the close of the 
war, he did not wholly withdraw from the public service. He 
continued to hold a commission in the militia of the state. He 
represented his parish in the senate. In 1790 he sat as a mem- 
ber of the convention for forming the state constitution. In 
1794 he resigned his military commission. The simple tomb 
which covers his remains at the family homestead was reared 
by a private citizen. There is no public monument yet raised 
in his lionor, by the state which he contributed, as much as any 
man, to pluck from the control of the invader. 

39. What distinguished individual visited the state in 1791 ? 40. How Avas he 
received ? 41. By whom was he escorted when he left Charleston V 42. Wh:it fearful 
epidemic visited Charleston in 1792 V 48. Wliat M'as the number of its victims ? 44. 
Wliat public work was begun in 1793? 45. Who was elected governor in 1794? 4o. 
For what was tliis year noted ? 47. What notable event occurred in 1795? 48. What 
b said of Marion ? 



FROM 1792 TO 1860. 401 

111 1796, Charles Pinckney again succeeded to the office of 
governor. In 1798, Edward Rutledge, one of the signers of the 
Declaration of Independence, became the governor. In 1799, 
the yellow fever again raged in Charleston, but with less fatality, 
and still its subjects w^ere mostly foreigners. The legislature, 
during this administration, established the office of comptroller- 
general. About the same time the state was newly districted or 
divided off into counties, districts, and parishes. These were 
twenty-four in number, as follows: Beaufort, Charleston, George- 
town, Orangeburg, Camden, Cheraw, Ninety-Six, Pinckney, and 
Washington districts. 

The jjarishes and counties were : St. Helena, St. Luke, Prince 
William, St. Peter, St. Philip, St. Michael, St. Bartholomew, 
St. John (Colleton), St. Andrew, St. Paul, All Saints, Prince 
George, Frederick, Louisburg or St. Matthew, Orange, Lexing- 
ton, Winton, Clarendon, Clermont, Salem, Richland, Fairfield, 
Chesterfield, Darlington, York, Chester, Union, Spartanburg, 
Pendleton, Greenville, Abbeville, Edgefield, Newberry, and 
Laurens. Three years after this period, another organization of 
the sections of the state took place, by which its grand divisions 
were made to embrace twenty-eight districts, as follows : — 

Lower Districts. — Beaufort, Charleston, Colleton, George- 
town, Williamsburg, Marion, and Horry. 

3fiddle Districts. — Barnwell, Edgefield, Orangeburg, New- 
berry, Lexington, Richland, Fairfield, Sumter, Kershaw, Dar- 
lington, Chesterfield, and Marlborough. 

Upper Districts. — Abbeville, Laurens, Union, Chester, Lan- 
caster, York, Spartanburg, Greenville, and Pendleton. The 
last district has recently been divided into two separate districts, 
one of which is called Pickens, the other Anderson. Still more 
recently, Sumter has been divided into two also — Sumter and 
Clarendon. It seems probable that other like divisions of other 

49. Who wag elected governor iu 179 G? 50. "Who in 1T98? 51. What happened 
in Charleston in 1799? 52. What public office was established during this adminis- 
tration ? 53. How was the state districted ? 54. Into how many districts ? 55. Name 
them. 56. Name the parishes or counties. 57. What division subsequently took 
place? 58. Into how many districts was the state then divided? 59. Name the par- 
ishes in the Lower district? 60. In the Middle district? Gl. In the Upper district? 
62. Which of these districts have recently been subdivided? 63. What is probable 
with regard to others V 



402 HISTORY OP SOUTH CAROLINA. 

districts will take place, several of them being quite too cum- 
brous for the convenience of the people, retarding the operation 
of law, and baffling the objects of education. 

In 1800, John Drayton, son of William Henry, of Revolu- 
tionary memory, became governor. He was a man of letters, 
and has left us several valuable volumes of a public character ; 
one, a body of " Memoirs of the Revolution in South Carolina," 
in two volumes ; and a single volume, " A View of South Caro- 
lina." He was a close, circumspect, and industrious compiler, 
and his notes are useful and authoritative. 

During his administration the county courts were abolished, 
and district courts substituted in every district. 

In 1801 the Santee canal was finished and went into success- 
ful operation. In the same year the South Carolina college 
was established by the legislature as a public institution, sup- 
ported by the government. To this college the state appropri- 
ates some twenty-five thousand dollars per annum. It is on an 
extensive plan, with numerous buildings, and possesses a fine 
library, which receives annual additions to a large amount from 
legislative appropriations. 

At this period the United States census made the population 
of South Carolina to consist of a total of three hundred and 
forty-five thousand, five hundred and ninety-one ; of which one 
hundred and ninety-six thousand, two hundred and fifty-five 
were whites, one hundred and forty-six thousand, one hundred 
and fifty-one slaves, and three thousand, one hundred and eighty- 
five free blacks and colored ; showing a considerable increase 
over the preceding census, though the drain by emigration to 
the southwest had already been begun. 

James B. Richardson, of Sumter, a planter, and son of the 
Revolutionary General Richardson, was elected governor in 
1802. We only note, during this period, that vaccination was 



64. Who was elected srovernor in 1300 ? 65. W hat is said of liim ? 66. What changes 
were made in the courts during his administration? 67. What public work was com- 
pleted in ISOl? 6S. "Where was Soxith Carolina college established, and how is it 
supported? 69. What amount does the state contribute annually for its support? TO. 
W^hat was the population of the state at this time ? 71. IIow many whites ? 72. How 
many blacks? 73. How many free blacks? 74. Who was elected governor in 1802? 
75. What noticeable events occurred during his administration? 



FROM 1782 TO I860. 403 

first introduced into South Carolina by tlie celebrated Doctor 
Kamsay. The cotton-culture continued to increase and ex- 
pand. 

Paul Hamilton succeeded as governor in 1804. He was the ] 
friend and counsellor of Isaac Hayne, the martyr in the Revo- I 
lution, and himself a Revolutionary personage of great influence. 1 
In September, of this year, Charleston was visited by a dreadful 
hurricane, which destroyed a vast amount of property, and for 
a time threatened the whole city. — The debts due the state 
were ascertained to amount to seven hundred and thirty-four 
thousand, seven hundred and fifty-five dollars. 

Charles Pinckney was again made governor in 1806. Dur- 
ing his term, the right of suffrage wa& accorded by the legislature 
to all white citizens, without requiring a property qualification. 

In 1808. John Drayton was again elected governor. 

In 1810, Henry Middleton, of Charleston, of one of the famous 
old colonial and Revolutionary families, succeeded to Drayton. 
In this year the population of South Carolina, by the United 
States census, made a total of four hundred and thirteen thou- 
sand, five hundred and fifteen ; namely, two hundred and four- 
teen thousand, one hundred and ninety-six whites ; one hundred 
and ninet3^-six thousand, three hundred and sixty-five slaves ; 
and four thousand, five hundred and fifty-four free blacks and 
colored — an increase in ten years of some sixty -five thousand. 
We note the greater proportionate increase of the slave popu- 
lation. ^ 

In 1811, a general free-school system for the education of | 
poor children was established for the first time. We shall 
note, hereafter, the result of the working of this system, and 
indicate equally its defects and benefits. 

In 1812, Joseph AUston, of Georgetown, became the gov- 
ernor. This gentleman was a man of large abilities. He was 

76. Who was elected governor in 1804? 77. With what calamity was Charleston 
visited in September of this year ? 7S. What amount of debt was due the state at this 
time? 79. AVho was made governor in 1806? 80. What important act was passed 
during his administration? 81. Who was made governor in 1808? 82. W^ho in 1810? 
83. What was the population at this time ? 81. The number of whites ? 85. The num- 
ber of slaves? 86. The number of free blacks? 87. What was the increase in tcu 
years ? 8S. What was established in 1811 ? 89. W^ho was made governor in 1812 ? 



404 HLSTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

intimately concerned and active in the political parties of the 
nation, and will long be remembered as the husband of the 
beautiful, accomplished and charming, but unfortunate, Theodo- 
sia, the favorite daughter of Aaron Burr. Her fate, for she 
disappeared at sea, is still a mystery. She is thought to have 
fallen a victim to some one of the many piratical vessels which 
infested the gulf of Mexico for so long a period. 

Several important events took place in South Carolina during 
Governor Allston's administration. The bank of the state was 
established in Charleston. Subsequently, branches of it were 
created at Columbia and Camden. 

It had become necessary to ascertain and fix the boundary 
line between the two Carolinas, and commissioners from North 
and South Carolina were appointed by the respective states. 
They proceeded to their survey with due diligence, and finally 
agreed upon the line. This, however, seems to have been arbi- 
trarily resolved upon, and without proper regard to the config- 
uration of the country. It should have followed the summits 
of the Apalachian, or Blue-Ridge chain, wherever this rose be- 
tween the two states. The result of the present arrangement is 
to throw certain portion:? of North Carolina on the South Caro- 
lina side of the chain ; and thus, while the convenience of busi- 
ness and a market would lead the people to the villages of the 
southern, the arbitrary enactment of law compels them to cross 
the mountains of the northern, state. Of the mountain region 
of South as well as North Carolina, no portion of the United 
States can exceed the beauty, salubrity, and fertihty. It consti- 
tutes the Helvetia of the country. 

The geographical designation of South Carolina is as fol- 
lows : — 

South Carolina is situated between thirty-two degrees, four 
minutes, thirty seconds, and thirty-five degrees, twelve minutes, 
nor ill latitude, and one degree, thirty minutes, and six degrees, 
fifty-four minutes, west longitude, from the capital at Washing- 
ton, or seventy-eight degrees, twenty-five minutes, and eighty- 

00. What is said of him ? 91. What is the supposed fate of Theodosia? 92. What 
Important events occurred during this administration? 93. What is said of the boun- 
dary line between the states of North and South Carolina? 94. Give the geograph- 
ical designation of the state. 



FROM 1782 TO I860. 405 

three degrees, forty-nine minutes, west longitude from Green- 
wich. From the closest computation which has been made, 
South Carolina contains 30,213 sc[uare miles, or 19,435,680 
acres ; and averages in length one hundred and eighty-nine 
miles, and in breadth one hundred and sixty miles. 

Her present limits are included within the following lines : — 
Beginning at a cedar stake, marked with nine notches, on 
the shore of the Atlantic ocean (Goat island), about one mile 
and a quarter east of the. mouth of Little river, and running 
thence north forty-seven degrees, thirty minutes west, ninety- 
one miles, seventeen chains (along the line run in 1764), to 
a light wood post (the northeast corner of the state) ; thence 
south eighty-nine degrees, five minutes west, sixty-five miles, 
forty chains, to the end of the line run in 1764; thence north 
two degrees, fifteen minutes east, seven miles, fifty-nine chains, 
to a marked sweet gum, designating the southeast corner of the 
Catawba Indian boundary-line (being the intersection of "the 
five-mile creek) ; thence north forty-one degrees west, thirteen 
miles, eight chains, to a marked hickory, about one third of a 
mile beyond Thomas P. Smith's hou:<e ; thence south fifty-two 
degrees west, seven miles to th.e Catawba river (near the mouth 
of White's branch) ; thence north three degrees west, up the 
Catawba river, about seven miles, to where it intersects the line 
run in 1772 (which commences at the mouth of the Little Ca- 
tawba river) ; thence along the said line, due west sixty-four 
miles, forty chains, to a stone near the Tryon mountain, marked 
* S. C.,' which designates the termination of the line run in 1772. 
Here the commissioners appointed by the legislatures of North 
and South Carolina, to establish the north boundary line be- 
tween the two states, set up a stone in 1813, marked ' N. C. 
and S. C, September 15th, 1813,' and thence continued the 
line due west four miles, twenty-two and a half chains, to a 
rock marked ' S. C, and N. C. ;' thence south twenty-five de- 
grees west, twenty-nine and a half chains, to a chestnut on the 
top of the ridge, dividing the waters of the north fork of Paco- 
let river from the waters of the north fork of Saluda river ; 
thence along the said ridge (keeping on the summit of the same 
all the way) until it intersects the Cherokee Indian boundary 



406 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

line (in a straight line near thirty miles, and following the ridge 
fifty miles), where a stone is set up and marked ' S. C. and N. C, 
1813 ;' thence south sixty-eight degrees, fifteen minutes west, 
eighteen miles, thirty chains, to the intersection of the thirty- 
fifth degrees north latitude, which is marked on a rock in the 
east branch of Chatooga river, with 'latitude 35^ A. D. 1813' 
(all which aforesaid lines divide this state from North Caro- 
lina) ; thence down the Chatooga river to its junction with the 
Tugaloo, where it is called the Toruro river (general course 
southwest twenty-nine degrees, distance in a straight line twenty- 
five miles) ; thence down the Tugaloo and Savannah rivers, to 
the intersection of the same with the Atlantic ocean (general 
course southeast forty degrees, distance in a straight line two 
hundred and twenty-six miles), all which divide this state from 
Georgia ; thence along the seacoast, including all the islands ad- 
jacent, to the place of beginning (general course northeast fifty- 
four degrees, thirty minutes, one hundred miles in a straight 
line). 

An event of national interest occurred during Allston's ad- 
ministration. The aggressions of Britain upon our commerce 
aroused the indignation of the American people, especially of 
the south; and on the eighteenth of June, 1812, the Congress 
of the United States declared war against Great Britain. In 
this declaration the patriotism of South Carolina, represented 
by such men as William Lowndes, John C. Calhoun, and Lang- 
don Cheves, was actively influential. They Avere the most earn- 
est pleaders to the nation for the assertion of its rights. The 
war w^as of brief duration, lasting about two years. Li this 
time, apart from the usual unfavorable effects of war upon 
commerce, South Carolina suffered little from its influence. 
Occasional descents were made upon her coasts by the British 
cruisers, and the entrances to the several ports of Charleston, 
Beaufort, and Georgetown, were sometimes obstructed by their 
frigates. 

In South Carolina a becoming spirit was manifested to meet 

95. Describe her pi-osent limits. 96. What event of national interest occurred dur- 
ing Allston's administration? 97. "What part did South Carolina and her representa- 
tives take in this discussion ? 98. Who were her representatives at this time ? 



PROM 1782 TO I860. 407 

the enemy In the event of invasion, which was anticipated from 
the same force which penetrated to Washington. Fortifications 
were raised in and around Charleston ; and such places along 
the coast as were more accessible for the landing of an enemy, 
were put in a condition for defence and manned with troops. 

In Charleston, the spirit of individual enterprise and valoi' 
kept equal pace with that of the public authorities. A number 
of private armed vessels were sent forth, which did immense 
injury to the commerce of Great Britain, and sent in numerous 
prizes. One or tAvo events, occurring in shore, along the Caro- 
lina coast, were particularly brilliant, and surpassed by no ex- 
ploits during the war. Among these was the defence of the 
schooner Alligator, in January, 1814. 

This vessel was commanded by sailing-master Basset, and 
lay abreast of Cole's island. Observing an enemy's frigate and 
brig just without the breakers, and suspecting that an attack 
would be made upon him during the night, Mr. Basset made 
his preparations to receive the enemy accordingly. Six boats 
were discovered pulling up with muffled oars, and under cover 
of the marsh, at about eight o'clock in the evening. They were 
hailed and fired upon. « A general discharge of grape and mus- 
ketry from both sides followed, and was continued for half an 
hour. 

The assailants were beaten and driven off with considerable loss. 
The Alligator had two men killed and two wounded. Her force 
was but forty men, while that of the British was near one hun- 
dred and forty. A large cutter of the enemy was shortly after 
picked up ofl North Edisto, supposed to have been one of the 
boats used on the occasion by the enemy. The bodies of an 
officer and a common seaman were found near it ; the former, 
besides other wounds, having lost an arm. The Alligator was 
afterward sunk in a squall, while lying in Port Royal sound, 
off the island of St. Simons. Seventeen of her crew and two 
officers perished. 

In August, 1813, the Decatur, a private armed vessel of 

99. How did tliis war affect South Carolina ? 100. What place was fortified ? 101. 
What events occurred on the Carolinian coast during the war? 102. Describe the 
defence of the schooner Alligator, in 1814? 



408 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

Charleston, mounting seven guns and commanded by Captain 
Diron, being on a cruise, discovered a ship and schooner, and 
stood toward them. She was soon abreast of the latter, which 
hoisted English colors and fired a shot, but without effect. Afr 
ter much manoeuvring, and the ineffectual exchange of several^ 
shots, together with a broadside, the two vessels came into close 
action, and a severe fire of musketry ensued. Captain Diron 
prepared to board, and succeeded in doing so. 

The resistance of the British was desperate. Firearms be- 
came useless, and the fight was carried on with the cutlass. 
The captain and chief officers of the enemy were killed, her 
decks covered with the dead and wounded, and her colors were 
finally torn down by the Americans. 

The prize proved to be the Dominica, of fifteen guns, with a 
crew of eighty men. She suffered a loss of thirteen killed and 
forty-seven wounded ; among the former was her commander. 
The Decatur had but four killed and sixteen wounded. The 
king's packet. Princess Charlotte, which had sailed under con- 
vey of the Dominica from St. Thomas, remained an inactive 
spectator of the bloody contest, which lasted an hour. At its 
close she made sail to the southward. .The Decatur had suf- 
fered too greatly in rigging to pursue. The same active cruiser, 
shortly after, captured and brought into Charleston, the British 
ship London Trader, mounting several guns, and having a val- 
uable cargo of sugar, coffee, cotton, rum, and molasses. 

August 18, of the same year, the British, in boats, made a 
descent upon Dewees's island, burnt some small craft, and rav- 
aged several of the seashore plantations. They visfted Capers!s 
and other islands, and curried off the live stock and provisions. 
On the 22d of the same month, they landed in force on Hilton- 
head, in Beaufort, and repeated their plunderings. These 
places were all defenceless, with no fortifications, and a popula- 
tion too sparsely settled and few of numbers to offer resistance. 

On the 27th and 28th of the same month, a dreadful gale 
raged along the coast, in which Charleston, Beaufort, Sullivan's 

103. Describe the figlit of the Decatur? 104. What the name oflier prize, the num- 
ber of lier men, and her guns? 105. AVhat was the loss on board the Decatur? 106. 
What further success had this privateer? 107. What happened on the 18th of August 
o*" this year ? 108. What on the 22d ? 109, What on the 2Tth and 28th ? 



FllOM 1782 TO I860. 409 

island, Georgetown, Edisto, Goose creek, and other seacoast 
settlements suffered great loss in life and property. The Brit- 
ish suffered, also. Their sloop-of-war. Moselle, was wrecked 
and went to pieces in Broad river. In October, of the same 
year, Charleston was blockaded by the enemy, who made many 
prizes of vessels with rich cargoes. 

In 1814, David R. Williams, a planter of the upper country, 
and a gentleman of high reputation and popularity, became the 
governor. 

The coast of Carolina was still watched closely by the British 
frigates, while their barges continued to harass the shores and 
plantations whenever there was plunder to be got, or the coun- 
try ravaged with impunity. They were sometimes caught in the 
act, and made to pay its penalties. On one occasion (January, 
1815), while Captain Dent, who commanded at Charleston, was 
at the North Edisto, he obtained information that a party of the 
enemy belonging to the British ship Hebrus, was watering on a 
neighboring island. He directed Mr. Laurence Kearney to 
proceed outside with three barges, to cut off their retreat, while 
a detachment of militia advanced upon them by land. 

The frigate was at anchor, out of gun-shot. Seeing the de- 
sign of the Americans, she fired guns and made other signs of 
recall, when two of the boats pulled toward her, and a tender 
that contained a strong party attempted to run out also. 

The wind shifted at this time, bringing the Hebrus to wind- 
ward of the American barges, but the tender to leeward of 
them, Kearney, regardless of the frigate and of the two boats, 
directed his aim at the tender. The Hebrus made the greatest 
exertions to save her. Shot were fired at her own cutters to 
drive them back to the assistance of the tender, and a third 
boat was also despatched to her succor. The fire of the frigate 
was also opened upon the American barges, and with such 
effect, that a shot took off the head of a man at Mr. Kearney's 
side. 

110. What loss did the British sustain in this gale? 111. What happened in Octo- 
ber of this year? 112. Who was made governor ia 1814? 113. To what annoyances 
were the Carolinians suljjected from the enemy at this time ? 114. Who was in com- 
mand at Charleston in January, 1810? 115. What enterprise did he direct against 
the Britisli ship Hebrus ? 116. Describe this battle. 

18 



410 HISTORY OP SOUTH CAROLINA. 

But the gallantry of this officer effected his object. He laid 
the tender aboard and captured her directly under the guns of 
the frigate. The launch of the Hebrus was also taken. The 
tender, beside other arms, had a carronade and six brass 
swivels in her. Forty prisoners were made on this occasion 
and brought into South Edisto. A few days later, the same 
gentleman, in the launch of the Hebrus, with a crew of twenty- 
five men, went out and captured a tender belonging to the Seve- 
rus ; in which were forty men. The coast of Carolina was 
thus distinguished throughout the whole period of the British 
blockade, by numerous other events, marked by like gallantry 
and success, which, if they were small of importance, were still 
fully significant of the spirit and prom2:>tness, the vigilance and 
determination, of the people. The achievements of the British, 
hovering along the coast with a strong squadron, were of no 
more imposing character. They made no formidable demon- 
stration upon any point capable of defence, and confined their 
efforts wholly to midnight forays along the exposed islets, and 
to the capture of sluggish merchant-vessels. With the close of 
this year (1814), the war was at an end. 

The treaty of peace, between the United States and Great 
Britain, signed at Ghent, December 24, 1814, relieved the 
shores of Carolina from the presence of an enemy which had 
kept them on the alert and anxious for a long space of time. 
The commerce of Charleston frequently suffered, meanwhile, 
from the British cruisers. But the spirit of the people was 
good; the old spirit of Seventy-six had fully revived in 1812, 
to meet the ancient enemy ; and numerous descendants of old 
revolutionary heroes were to be found volunteers in the field, 
and present in Canada, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana — wherever 
the enemy threatened — as well as at home. 

('' Nor should it be forgotten that the Carolina boy, who in- 
curred the blows of the British officer at Waxhaws, for refusing 

117. What was the number of prisoners taken ? IIS. What further capture did Mr. 
Kearney make? 119. What did the British accomplish on the coast in numerous 
midnight forays ? 120. In what year was the war brought to a close ? 121. Where 
and when was the treaty of peace between the United States and Great Britain 
signed ? 122. From what was Carolina, in consequence, relieved ? 123. What is said 
of the spirit and conduct of the people ? 



FROM 1782 TO i860. 411 

to clean his boots, was the commander-in-chief, who, at th'e*] 
bloody plains of New Orleans, washed out long scores of re- I 
corded vengeance, sworn for satisfaction fully thirty years before. 
Hayne, Hampton, Hamilton, Laval, and man}'- other South Car- [ 
olinians, most of whom could trace back their blood to revolu-/ 
tionary stock, distinguished themselves during the war. 

In 1816, Andrew Pickens, of Edgefield, a revolutionary name 
of great distinction — was made governor of South Carolina. 
During his term, the legislature seriously addressed itself to the 
business of internal improvement, commencing with liberal ap- 
prf priations of money. It i*«^much doubted, however, whether 
this was always expended wisely. The engineering science of 
the state was then but rudely and imperfectly developed ; and 
there is always apt to be fatal facility in the expenditure of 
money when it issues from the treasury of a people, and is not 
guarded by the jealous vigilance of individual interests. 

The village of Moultrieville (Sullivan's island) was incorpo- 
rated during this administration. The church of St. Paul, in 
Charleston, was consecrated. The summer of 1817, in Charles- 
ton, was marked by the fatal prevalence of yellow fever, of far 
more than cust(Jmary severity. 

In 1818, John Geddes, of Charleston, a popular favorite and 
lawyer, was elected to the executive chair. The period was 
distinguished by the increasing rancor of parties, then distin- 
guished by the names of Republican and Federalist. The for- 
mer gained the ascendency in the election of Geddes. But the 
party lines thus drawn, however stringently, and supported with 
whatever degree of tenacity, were destined to be soon obliterated, 
and to give place to others, which fused and absorbed all the old 
distinctions. 

Cheraw, on the Pedee, during the administration of Geddes, 
grew into a commercial town of considerable importance. 

In 1820. Thomas Bennett, of Charleston, a gentleman of 

124. Who are named as particularly distinguishing themselves in the war? 125. 
Who was made governor in 1816? 126. To what did the legislature of the state ad- 
dress itself during his administration ? 127. With what success? 128. What noticeable 
events occurred in 1S16 and 1817? 129. Who was elected governor in 1818? 180. For 
what was this person distinguished ? 181. W^hat place grew into a commercial town 
of importance in this term? 182. Who was elected governor in 1820? 



412 HISTORY OP SOUTH CAROLINA. 

wealth and great popularity — a mechanic and large proprietor 
— was elected governor of the state. His administration was 
marked by an event of very painful interest to the inhabitants 
of Charleston. A bold, but wholly unsuccessful scheme of in- 
surrection among the negro population, was devised by one 
Denmark Vesey, a mulatto, from the island of St. Domingo, 
who, having been a spectator, and, possibly, a participator of the 
insurrection in the island, had brought with him a taste for its 
horrors to Carolina. His plans were marked by considerable 
judgment and intelligence, due, no doubt, to his previous expe- 
rience. As it is always easy to^ersuade the ignorant and dis- 
solute that they are badly governed, Vesey succeeded in cor- 
rupting a number of the negroes, and employed them in the 
dissemination of his scheme. The appeals were made to their 
appetites and passions. They were promised the plunder of 
the city, and the gratification of all their lusts. But, fortu- 
nately, through the fidelity, of some native slaves, the plot was 
discovered ; the citizens took up arms ; the ringleaders were 
seized and the design defeated without bloodshed. The princi- 
pal negroes concerned were tried before a court constituted for 
the purpose, and a certain number were convicted. Vesey, the 
chief conspirator, with thirty-four others, the most prominent, 
and against whom the evidence was decisive, was hung ; a like 
number were transported from the state, while about twice the 
number, who had been arrested also, were acquitted. Four 
white men, foreigners, were indicted as privy to and partici- 
pants in the conspiracy. They were found guilty of misde- 
meanor, and sentenced to fine and imprisonment. 

John Lyde Wilson, an eminent lawyer, of Georgetown, suc- 
ceeded to Bennett as governor, in 1822. During his term of 
office, the low country was ravaged by a destructive hurricane, 
which destroyed several lives and much property. Charleston 
suffered especially. In 1823, the Medical College of South 
Carolina was incorporated. It has, since that day, attained a 

133. What painful event occurred during his administration? 1;^. How did Vesey 
lay his plans? 135. How was tlie plot discovered and defeated ? 186. What was the 
fate of Vesey and the other conspirators? 137. Who Avas elected governor in 1822? 
188. What noticeable events occurred during his administration ? 



FROM 1782 TO I860. 413 

distinguished rank among the sister schools throughout the Con- 
federacy ; and remains still one of the most flourishing of all 
southern institutions of like kind. 

Richard I. Manning was elected governor in 1824, This 
gentleman was a planter of Sumter district, and the son of a 
brave captain of the Revolution. In the same year, the courts 
of law of South Carolina were newly modelled by the legislature. 

This year was distinguished in South Carolina by the visit 
of Lafayette, to the state, in his circuit through the Confed- 
eracy. There were special reasons why this visit should occa- 
sion special gratification in South Carolina. It was upon her 
shores that he had first landed, nearly fifty years before, in his 
chivalrous sympathy with the American cause. It was by a son 
of South Carolina, Francis Huger, assisted by Bollman, a Ger- 
man, that he had been rescued from the dungeons of Olmutz — 
a brief period of liberty only, since he was soon recaptured. La- 
fayette, revisiting South Carolina, had the satisfaction of being 
welcomed by Huger, no longer a youth, and their interview, 
which was long and private, may well be supposed to have had 
a touching interest for both. The visit of Lafayette to South 
Carolina was hailed by the people with great enthusiasm and 
many honors. 

On the 16th of August, 1825, General Charles Cotesworth 
Pinckney died, covered with years and honors. This gentle- 
man, as we have shown in previous pages, had been one of the 
most firm, consistent, and able of the revolutionary leaders in 
South Carolina. Educated at Westminster (England), he be- 
gan the practice of law, in Carolina, in 1770, but was soon called 
from the courts of law to the fields of strife. A captain at the 
opening of the Revolution, he soon rose to the colonelcy of the 
first regiment of South Carolina infantry. After the battle of 
Fort Moultrie, and when his own state had been temporarily 
freed from the invader, he joined the northern army, and be- 
came an aid-de-camp to Washington. He was present, in this 
capacity, at the battles of Brandywine and Germantown. When 

189. Who was elected governor in 1824 ? 140. What is said of him ? 141. For what 
events was this year distinguished? 142. How was Lafayette received in South Car- 
olina ? 143. What distinguislied individual died in 1825 ? 144. What is said of him ? 



414 HISTORY OP SOUTH CAROLINA. 

the tide of war again flowed south, he returned to Charleston, 
and was soon actively engaged in the several conflicts in Geor- 
gia and Carolina, which terminated in the fall of both their 
capital cities. At the final investment of Charleston, he had 
command of Fort Moultrie ; on the abandonment of which he 
joined the garrison of the city, and w^as conspicuous among its 
defenders. With its surrender, he became a prisoner of war. 
After the war was over, he was made major-general of the mil- 
itia of the lower division of the state. A favorite of Washing- 
ton, and a strong advocate of the political principles of that 
great man, he was tendered, at successive periods, the judgeship 
of the supreme court ; the secretaryship of war, and that of 
state ; but he declined them all. He was a member of the 
convention which framed the Constitution of the United States, 
and subsequently contributed greatly to its adoption in the con- 
vention of his own state, which deliberated on this compact. 
Appointed minister to France, at the period of our national dif- 
ference with the French Directory, he resented the attempt to 
corrupt him ; and when insolently required, on behalf of his 
* country, to pay tribute to France, as represented by this Direc- 
7 tory, his reply became memorable, and an American proverb, 
( which was echoed by the voice of war throughout the Confed- 
I eracy. " Millions for defence," said Pinckney, " but not a cent 
I for tribute !" Returning home, he was named by Washington 
/ as major-general of the armies of the United States. His whole 
^ career was marked by usefulness and honor. Of pure nature, 
fine education, classical purity of style and thought, his success 
as a lawyer was due rather to his virtues and to his intellect 
than to his eloquence. Eloquence he did not afiect ; but his 
argument was always just, well and logically reasoned, lucid, 
direct, and simply proper and to the point. His sense of jus- 
tice and benevolence was acute and tenacious. He refused all 
conij)ensation for his services from the widow and the orphan. 
Polished in manners, pure of life, he lived and died a Clu'istian. 
In 1826, John Taylor, of Richland, a gentleman of wealth 
and a planter, became the governor of the state. The adminis- 

14ri. Who was elected governor in 1826? 146. What particularly distinguishes this 
administration? 



FROM 1782 TO 1860. 415 

tratioii of this gentleman was distinguislied by the first legisla- 
tive demonstration of South Carolina, of her hostility to the 
tariff laws of the United States. On the 12th of December, 
1827, the legislature passed resolutions which denounced them 
as usurpations of the rights of the state. 

In the same period, the Commissioners of Free Schools re- 
ported the establishment of eight hundred and ninety-two 
schools, of this character, within the state, in which eight thou- 
sand eight hundred and thirty-four pupils were taught, at an 
annual cost of thirty-six thousand five hundred and eighty 
dollars. 

In 1828, Stephen D. Miller, of Sumter district, was elected 
governor. The Free-School report for this year lessened the 
number of .public schools to eight hundred and forty, but in- 
creased the number of pupils to nine thousand and thirty-six ; 
the annual appropriation for whom was also increased to thirty- 
nine thousand seven hundred and sixteen dollars. The legis- 
lature again passed resolutions against the United States tariff 
laws, and entered a protest, December 19, 1828. The excite- 
ment on this subject was hourly increasing wathin the state. 

In 1830, James Hamilton, jr., of Charleston, a distinguished 
lawyer, and a man of various abilities, wdio had succeeded to 
William Lowndes as the representative for Charleston, in Con- 
gress, was made governor. He was an ardent opponent of the 
tariff laws ; and, like a large proportion of the chief men of 
South Carolina, urged their veto by the sovereign interposition 
of the state. This period was distinguished by the great debate 
in Congress, ostensibly on the resolutions of Foote, respecting 
the public lands, between Hayne, of South Carolina, and Web- 
ster, of Massachusetts (January, 1830). The true issues in this 
debate involved organic topics of the constitution — the rights 
of the States, and of the Confederacy, respectively; the one 
party (state rights) claiming the Federal Union to be only a 

147. Wliat was the number of free schools in the state at this^period ? — of pupils? 
— the annual cost? 148. Who was elected governor in 182S? 1-49. T7hat changes 
were noticed in tlie School reports? 150. What further action was taken by the legis- 
lature on the subject of the tariff? 151. Who was made governor in 1830 ? 152. What 
js said of him? 153. For what was this period distinguished ? 154. What were the 
true issues involved in this debate? 



416 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

creature of the states, with limited powers not subject to con- 
sideration ; the other, substantially asserting the control of the 
states by the Congress, and representing the Federal Union as 
a^creature of the people at large — of the whole confederacy. It 
seems proper, in this place, to show what was the position taken 
by South Carolina. 

1. She contended that the bond of Union was a compact be- 
tween the states, and called the Constitution. 2. That this was 
a compact between sovereign equals, in which they pledged 
themselves to forbear the exercise of their sovereign power 
over certain defined objects, and to assert jointly their sovereign 
power over other equally specified objects, through the agency 
of a general government. For external purposes, these powers 
were to be exerted jointly ; for internal purposes, or state mat- 
ters, to be exerted separately. 

3. That the Federal Constitution ^-as a compact jealously de- 
vised ; cautiously guarded by limitations and specifications, con- 
ceding power to the general government only in certain respects, 
which were all declared, and reserving all other powers, not enu- 
merated in the instrument, to the exercise of the individual states. 

4. That, in forminsi; the constitution, the states divested them- 
selves of none of their sovereignty ; that the constitution is a 
power of attorney, under which the functionaries of the general 
government, as the agents of the states, are to do the duties 
assigned them by the paramount authority, the states. 

5. That, as the Congress of the United States is but the 
agent of the states, the refusal of the states, or any of them, 
to recognise the law passed by the Congress is an inherent 
right of the principal. That it is an absurdity to talk of a state 
rebelling against the general government. "The superior can 
not rebel against the inferior — the principal against the agent. 

6. That each state has the right of a veto on any act of ,Con- 
gress which it shall deem unconstitutional. That unconstitu- 
tional laws are null and void ah initio. 

7. That, in virtue of her sovereignty, the state is the judge 
of her own rights, and is bound to her people to protect them 
against the usurpations of Congress by nullifying the unconsti- 

155. What position did South Carolina take in this debate? 



FROM 1782 TO 18G0. 417 

tutional law, and relieving her citizens from all obligations to 
obey it. This is by nulUJication, or the interposition of the 
state veto, uttered in its sovereign capaeit}'. 

Such were the principles upon which Hayne relied in his f 
great contest with Webster, who represented the centralization | 
of the confederacy, or rather the utter absorption of the states / 
individually, in the power of the general government. 

He ai-gued that the constitution was not formed by the states 
in their sovereign capacity — that it is not a compact between 
the states, but that it is a government formed by the people of 
the whole, as one massed and common population, having no 
individual existence as communities, but resolved into one pro- 
miscuous nationality : that the individual sovereignty of the 
states was a thing secondary to the national confederacy ; and 
that in any issues between ''the parties, any questions of right, or 
rule, or separate jurisdiction, the supreme court was the sole 
arbiter between the parties. 

To all this South Carolina, through Mr. Hayne, Mr. Calhoun, 
Mr. M'Duffie, and other chosen representatives, replied, that, 
with respect to the parties to the constitution, Mr. Webster was 
at deadly issue with all history, and they referred to the record. 
They said that such doctrines resolved the government into a 
consolidated power, fatal to the rights of-the several parties mak- 
ing it ; that it subverted all the fundamental principles of con- 
stitutional liberty ; that the term sovereignty, as applied to them, 
would be, if such doctrines were true, a sheer absurdity ; and 
that their securities, as separate communities, separate in any 
measure, would be just as absurd ; that the supreme court, which 
is insisted upon as the common arbiter, the court of dernier re- 
sort, is itself the creature of the general government, ap^winted 
by its executive, and living by its authority ; that the previous 
experiences of this judicial tribunal has shown it to be itself 
usurpative constantly, by implication and construction, seeking 
the increase of its own power, enlarging that of the federal gov- 
ernment, and abridging, with stealthy but continued industry,, 
the securities and rights of the states as individuals. To close, 

156. "What was Mr. Webster's argument? 157. How was he answered by the repre- 
sentatives of South Carolina? 

18* 



418 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

South Carolina asserted, as she had done at the beginning and 
as the justification of her resort to tlie state veto, the authority 
of su6h states as Virginia and Kentucky. In the resolutions of 
the former state, as reported by Madison, one of the best au- 
thorities upon the constitution, it is said : " The constitution of 
the United States was formed by the sanction of the states, given 
by each in its sovereign capacity." And we may add, they 
took their own time about it, consenting or adopting severally, 
at distinct periods, in state convention, and in frequent cases 
reluctantly, and with strong minorities opposed. In South Caro- 
lina there was the opposition and negatives of several able 
men — Rawlins Lowndes, for example. In regard to the doc- 
trine of the veto, or state interposition, to an-est federal usurpa- 
tion, the resolutions of Virginia declare, "that where resort 
can be had to no common superior to the authority of th« 
parties, the parties themselves must be the judges, in the last 
resort, whether the bargain made has been pursued or vio- 
lated." 

The " Kentucky resolutions" spoke in language yet more de- 
cided. They say " that the government, created by this com- 
pact, was not made the exclusive or final judge of the extent 
of the powers delegated to itself, since that would have made 
its discretion, and not the constitution, the measure of its pow- 
ers ; but that, as in all cases of a compact among parties having 
no common judge, each party has an equal right to judge for it- 
self, as well of infractions, as of the mode and measure of redress." 

The resolutions of Kentucky say further : — 

" That the principle and construction contended for by sev- 
eral of the state legislatures, that the general government is the 
exclusive judge of the powers delegated to it, sto}j notlnng short 
of despotism ; since the discretion of those who administer the 
government, and not the constitution, would be the measure of 
their powers." 

Upon these authorities, equally lofty and lucid. South Caro- 
lina built her argument, and asserted her sovereign right to in- 
terpo>ie with her veto and arrest the operations of a law of Con- 

158. What do the Virginia resohitions declare? 159. What do the Kentucky resolu ■ 
tions dc'flareV 



FROM 1782 TO 18G0. 419 

gress, upon her people, which she deemed to be unjust and 
usurpative. 

And it was upon these organic issues that Hayne and 'Web- 
ster, contended, representing severally the state-rights doctrines, 
and those of the federal or consolidation-government party. 

The debate was a protracted one, and brought forth, to their 
fullest extent, the respective powers of the two great champions. 
The state-rights party held and believed that the argument was 
with Hayne, and that it was unanswerable. The federal party 
held otherwise, of course. Hayne was an adroit and able de- 
bater ; lucid, logical, with a well-balanced mind ; graceful and 
impassioned as a speaker; sweet and winning in his eloquence, 
and wonderfully persuasive in manner. 

Webster, on the other hand, was one of the most remarkably- 
endowed men whom New England has ever produced ; broad- 
fronted in opinion ; stern and inflexible of doctrine ; powerful 
in exhortation, in assault as in defence ; a classical scholar, of 
large reading and pure style ; simple, bold, and capable, because 
of a fine imagination, to rise into flights of grandeur and elo- 
quence, which few men could equal or approach. It was ad- 
mitted that his powers were never more severely tried. It is 
asserted that his logic was not equal to his eloquence. It is 
claimed by South Carolina that Hayne's argument is irrefuta- 
ble, and that it required all the dialectic skill of Webster, all 
his adroitness as politician and lawyer, all his eloquence as a 
classical scholar and highly-endowed imaginative thinker — not 
to answer, but to obscur*e and slur over the question. 

We have stated enough for the historical clues to this argu- 
ment at large. The student must seek its further exposition 
elsewhere. It is left for us briefly to state, that even in South 
Carolina there was a large party opposed to the extreme meas- 
ures which were contemplated by the majority. This party, 
claiming equally to be of the state-rights doctrine with the party 
of nullification — recognizing the right of secession from the 
confederacy on the part of a state no longer sure of its riglits 
within it — were yet incapable of recognizing the right of nulli- 

ICrt. What is said of tliis debate? IGl. What of Colonel Hayne ? 162. What of Mr. 
Webster? 168. What is claimed bv South Carolina in regard 'to this debate? 



420 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

fication ; that is, the forbidding of one or more laws of Congress 
while, still remaining an integral of the Union. And in the 
local contest of parties, both became heated to such a degree as 
to threaten the country with civil war. Their respective num- 
bers may be rated, that of the nullification party at thirty 
thousand, that of the Union party at fifteen thousand. 

The leaders on both sides ^vere remarkably-endowed men. 
On the one side were arrayed such men as Calhoun, Hayne, 
M'Duffie, Hamilton, Trumbull, Preston, Cooper, Hammond, 
Harper, Smith (Hhett) Elliott, and many others equally enthu- 
siastic and perhaps able ; on the other were Poinsett, Huger, 
Petigru, Legare, Grimke, Lee, Drayton, Johnson, Elliott, 
Memminger, Cunningham, Richardson, Perry, etc. In the 
course of the conflict, talents were developed, of the political 
sort, such as will always illustrate this period in a remarkable 
manner. The controversy shed a light over the hitherto neg- 
lected characters of the constitution, which we believe will, in 
great degree, affect the judgment of future times. Among the 
pamphlets of value, close argument, and admirable eloquence, 
may be mentioned that of Trumbull on the side of state-rights, 
and that of Hurlbut on the side of union. The Union party 
argued rather against the wisdom and policy of extreme meas- 
ures than upon the organic principles. It is not easy to show, 
however, to what extremes the parties went, and how often 
they forgot the argument in the bitterness of the controversy. 
Happily these conflicts are over, ai"ul were passed without 
bloodshed, though frequently on the verge of it, especially in 
Charleston. 

The nullification party was successful, triumphed everywhere 
at the ballot-box, and had the destiny of the state in its hands. 
The rest rapidly followed. On the 17th of December, 1830, 
South Carolina made a formal declaration of state-rights prin- 
ciples, and enacted an ordinance to nullify the operation of the 
act of .Congress imposing duties, etc. 

164. Wliat is said of the tAvo parties in South Carolina? 165. What their relative 
numbers ? 166. Who were the leaders of the party of nallifieation ? 16T. Who of the 
Union party? 168. Wlio wrote and published pamphlets on this question? 169. 
What was the result of the conflict ? ITi). Which party triumphed at the ballot-box ? 
]71. What ordinance was enacted on tlie ITtli of December, ISSO? 



FROM 1782 TO 1860. 421 

John C. Calhoun succeeded to Robert Y. Hayne in the senate 
of the United States^and in 1832 Hayne was made governor 
of the state. 

Tlie nullification, by the sovereign authority of South Caro- 
lina, of an act of Congress, which forbade the obedience of its 
citizens to the federal authority in all matters involved in the 
said act, called forth from Andrew Jackson, then president, a 
proclamatioR denouncing the ordinance of nullification, and com- 
manding the obedience of her citizens to the federal law. 

This proclamation was promptly answered by Hayne as gov- 
ernor, with another asserting the sovereignty of the state, and 
calling upon the citizens to be firm in its maintenance. The 
proclamation of Jackson was denounced in South Carolina as 
the sublime of despotism, and as a total surrender of all the 
rights and securities of the states to a consolidated and central 
usurpation. The state prepared for invasion. The president, 
a man of notorious will and great determination, having at the 
same time a personal feeling of hostility — an absolute quarrel, 
indeed — with some of the chief men of South Carolina, pre- 
pared to coerce it, and armed vessels were already sent to the 
})ort of Charleston to enforce the revenue laws and compel the 
submission of the community. 

Meanwhile, the preparations of the state went on ; troops 
were organized ; large supplies of cannon and other weapons 
of war, with the necessary munitions, were bought ; and a call 
was made for volunteers. Even out of the limits of the state, 
it was understood that more than fifty thousand men had vol- 
unteered to maintain South Carolina ; while it was also reported 
that quite as many had volunteered to the president, to enable 
him to subdue the disafi^ected state. It is quite probable that 
both accounts are exaggerated. To attempt to coerce a state 
into the confederacy must be the signal for the subversion of it. 

172. Who succeeded Hayne in the senate? 173. V/ho was made governor in 1832? 
174. "What proclamation by the then president of the United States was made in coq- 
sequence of tlie course of Sontli Carolina ? 175. How was this proclamation answered 
by G-overnor Hayne? 176. How was the proclamation of the president received in 
South Carolina? 177. For what did the state prepare ? 178. What is said of the pres- 
ident and his measures? 179. What preparations did the slate make? ISO. What 
number of volunteers were reported on both sides ? ISl. What is said of any attemi)t 
to coerce a free state into the confederacy? 



422 HISTORY OP SOUTH CAROLINA. 

Free states are not to be cemented into sisterly harmony by 
blood and fire ! ' 

Fortunately for the country, the crisis was such as to compel a 
pause in the action of the stronger power in Congress. A com- 
promise measure was introduced, by which the tariff was to under- 
go such a degree of modification, within a limited period of time, 
that Mr. Calhoun and the representatives from South Carolina 
declared themselves satisfied. The compromise was probably 
the fiuit of wisdom and moderate counsels ; but it has proved a 
delusion, and might as well have been a ruse de guerre, so far 
as regards the permanent settlement of the question. The fa- 
tal policy which drove South Carolina to the final issue is still 
to too great a degree the policy of the majority in Congress. 
Its fruits will probably develop themselves in future mischiefs 
which will find no remedial agency. But it is not our province 
to anticipate. 

On the 1st of June, 1832, General Thomas Sumter died near 
Bradford Springs at the advanced age of ninety-eight. His mil- 
itary career and great Revolutionary services have already been 
reported in previous pages. After the Revolution, he was for 
many years a rej)resentative in Congress and senator from 
South Carolina. In these situations he always commanded the 
highest respect. He was a true and fearless patriot, a brave 
soldier, and a partisan general of brilliant abilities. 

In 1834 George M'Dufiie, of the middle country, became gov- 
ernor of the state. Mr. M'Duffie was one of the ablest states- 
men and orators that our country has produced. Classical and 
finished of style, of extensive reading and most vigorous thought, 
he possessed a bold, vehement, and powerful utterance, which 
would justify us in describing him as the Demosthenes of the 
country. 

1834-6. The annual report of the commissioners of free 
schools, for 1835, made the number of schools seven hundred 
and nine, in which eight thousand, four hundred and seventy- 

1S2. What measure was introcUiced into Consjress wliicli healed the rupture and 
satisfied l)oth parties? 188. Wiiat has tlie compromise proved? 184. What distin- 
guislied partisan general died in 1882? 185. W^hat is said of him? 186. Who was 
made governor in 1884? 187. What is said of him? 188. AVhat was the condition of 
the free schools in lSP.4-'eG? 



FROM 1782 TO 1860. 423 

five pupils were taught, at an annual cost of thirty-three thou- 
sand, six hundred and thirty -one dollars. 

1836. Pierce M. Buller, of the middle country, was elected 
governor. This gentleman came of old Revolutionary stock, 
and was himself distinguished as a public-spirited and able citi- 
zen. He crowned his distinctions finall}^, in after days, by 
dying bravely while leading on a South Carolina regiment against 
the enemy on the field of Churubusco. 

During his administration, the report of the free-school com- 
missioners made the number of schools six hundred and ninety 
five, and of pupils six thousand, seven hundred and eighteen — 
a considerable diminution from previous returns, which we are 
to ascribe in part to the increased prosperity of the people, the 
increase of private schools, and the better capacity of the people 
to sustain them. But the annual appropriation of the state for 
their support remained unchanged — thirty-three thousand, six 
hundred and thirty-fonr dollars. 

During the same administration, a charter was granted of the 
Great "Western railroad, designed to connect the city of Charles- 
ton with the states of Ohio and Kentucky, and, through them, 
with the great valley of the Mississippi. To this railroad the 
state of South Carolina made large appropriations. She had 
already contributed largely to the railway connecting Charleston 
with Augusta, Georgia, one of the first of such enterprises in 
the Union, and at one time the longest continuous line of railway 
in the world. 

In 1838, Patrick Noble, of Abbeville, one of the most eminent 
citizens of the upper country, was elected governor. He dying 
in office the second year of his term, was succeeded by the lieu- 
tenant-governor, B. K. Hennegan. During the legislative ses- 
sion of 1839, the committee reports made an exhibit of the con- 
dition of the banks of the state of South Carolina, as follows : — 

189. Who was made governor in 1836? 190. What is said of liim? 191. What was 
the report of tlie free-school commissioners during his term ? 192. WJiat great worlc 
was chartered by the slate during tliis administration V 193. What was the action 
of tlie state in aid of this work and anotlier of similar kind ? 194. Who was elected 
governor in 1838? 195. What is said of him? 196. Who succeeded him? 197 
During this legislative session, what important report was made? 



HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 



BANKS. 


1839. 


Capital. 

$2,938,125 
1,156,318.48 
1,361,421.78 
l.|!i)0,000 
480,000 
315 940 75 
200,000 
SOO.OOO 
1.000,000 
1,000,000 
1.000,000 
'438,500 

11,610,805 01 


Circulation. 


Deposits. 


Specie. 


Bank of Cluirlestoii, 

B'k'-f the State of S. C. 
S. Western Railroad B'k, 

State Bank 

Mereliants' B'k, Clieraw, 

Bank of Camden 

Baidc of (rf-orijetown 
CoininerM li'k, Columbia 

Tnion Bank 

7jank of Soiitli Carolina 
Planters' & Median. B'k. 
Bank of Ilaiuburg. 


July 1 

Oct. 1 

Oct. 1 

Oct.l6 

Oct.31 

Oct.31 

Nov.l 

" 5 

" 5 

" 6 

" 8 

''12 


$761,826 
563,270 
419,130 
125,762 50 
410,159 
272,950 
173,666 
436,700 
84,696 67 
346,3;»5 
458,935 • 
495,545 

4,499,095 17 


$693,902.12 

612.289.45 

69,072.61 

70,607.48 

28,024.80 

46,867.65 

29,729.39 

53,622.70 

198,122.23 

1S3,.1 50.10 

355,006.03 

60,857.98 


$516,762.33 

291.180.40 

185,001.08 

21,352.68 

83,782.65 

70,704.44 

46.775.88 

184.667.34 

83,090.56 

81,346.06 

168,061.44 

123,388.75 


Totals 


2401,252.04 


1,856 143.56 





In order that the reader and student may compare the progress 
for himself, of twenty years of these institutions within the state, 
we add the last exhibit (October, 1859) of their condition, and 
of the circulation and capital thus invested within the limits of 
the state. It will be seen that the number of banks has been 
increased from twelve to twenty, from 1839 to 1859 : — 



Banks. 


Discount. 


Deposits. 


Circulation. 


Specie. 


Camden. . . 


266,477.28 


26,063.03 


130,616 


36,877.32 


Charleston. 


2,107,184.97 


613,633.89 


841,345 


645,350-36 


Chester. . . 


232,18.5.64 


44,892.19 


443,520 


62,715.77 


Commercial 


821,259.83 


170,593.30 


332,020 


111,204.75 


Exchan}2:e. . 


317,-537.24 


69,125.15 


4.53,605 


46,253.20 


Far. & Ex. . 


841,112.35 


93,457.65 


532,755 


134,702.23 


Georfi:etown 


165,555.99 


73.454.60 


143,835 


45,399.64 


Hamburo;. . 


229,513.86 


53,501.89 


621,347 


121,098.79 


Mereliants' . 


213,864.78 


28,9.54.70 


281,207 


52,555.01 


Newberrv. . 


163,145.73 


44,323.75 


355,782 


61,280.22 


People's. , . 


892,945.10 


135,607.84 


329,775 


198,738.83 


Planters'. . 


56,880.40 


29,567.35 


240,965 


24,479.90 


Pl'rs & Mec' 


903,003.63 


139,275.11 


147,490 


88,586.48 


S. Carolina. 


1,016,893.09 


198,135.63 


93,912 


50,569.95 


S. W. K. R. 


736,581.25 


405,278.53 


293,255 


82,481.04 


Bank State. 


2,342,718.98 


739,707.32 


1,402,182 


440,518.03 


Col. Branch. 


880,060.14 


287,858.32 




13,067. .53 


Cam, Branch 


236,373.72 


11,961.19 




3,109.44 


State 


574,704.82 


210,259.54 


308,240 


135,812.50 


Union 


881,656.77 


174,065.39 


158,320 


40,000.00 


Total .... 


13,879.655.57 


3,551,714.38 


7,110,173 


2,394,800.99 



198. How many banks were there in the state at this lime ? 199. What was their 
total capital ? 200. Circulation? 201. Deposits? 202. Specie? 203. What is the 
present nundier of banks (October, 1859) V 204. What is the .amount of capital? 
20.5, Circulation? 206. Deposits? 207, Specie? 



FROM 1789 TO 1860. 



425 



The ao-orresate results are as follows : — 



LIABILITIES. 

Capital $14,962,062.34 

Circulation... 7,110,173.37 
Profits on hand. 2,068,020.98 

Due Banks 2,596,432.37 

Deposits 3,551,714.38 

Due State 3.208.798.23 


RES01 

Specie 

Real Estate. . 
Bank Notes . . 
Due from Ban 
Discounts. .'. . 
For'n Exchan 
Domestic Ex. 

Bonds 

Stocks 

Surplus Debt 
Branches .... 
State 


[JRCES. 

. $2,394,800.99 
759,020.57 
317,422.00 

ks 1,211,359.41 
13,879,655.57 

ge 378,378.76 


Other items. 


1,475,00 


7,404,802.02 

.. 1,067,455.41 

. 1,892,627.73 

. . 1,454,810.89 

. . 1,537,804.67 

.. 281,473.37 




Other items . . 


.. 919,065.28 




$33,498,676.67 


$33,498,676.67 



During the same session of the legislature (1839), the r^urns 
of the state census made the free white population of the state 
as follows : — 



Spartanburg 1 7,847 

St. Philip & St. Michael 15,661 

Edgefield 15,069 

Abbeville 14,006 

Anderson 12,839 

Greenville 12,556 

Laurens 12,382 

Pickens 11,491 

York 11,173 

Barnwell 10,978 

Union 10,873 

Chester 9,349 

Fairfield 9,152 

Sumter 8,916 

Marion 8,291 

N>.wberry 8,286 

Orangeburg 7,392 

Total 2.50,839 

We find, too, same year, that the Committee on Education 
reported the number of free schools at eight hundred and thirty- 
two, the pupils at eight thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, 
and the annual cost of their tuition at forty thousand three hun- 
dred and twenty-six dollars and twenty-nine cents. The parishes 
of Pi-ince William, St. James, and Santee, are not included in 

208. What was the num1)er of free white inhabitants in the state in lS-39 ? 209. What 
was the school report ? 



Darlington 6,029 

Lexington 5,846 

Colleton 5,845 

Richland 5,773 

Lancaster 5,509 

Chesterfield 5,413 

Marlborough 4,1 19 

Kcrsiiaw 3,947 

Horry 3,930 

Williamsburg 2,687 

Georgetown 2,014 

St. James, Goose Creek.. 1,302 

St. John's, Berkley 812 

St. John's, Colleton 679 

St. Stephen's, 390 

St. James', Santee 283 



1 



42G HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

this report ; and the census is probably defective in many 
respects. 

In 1839, there was a lively agricultural movement in the 
state ; a great state agricultural convention was held at Colum- 
bia, in which most of the districts were represented by the lead- 
ing men of each. This movement led to district or county soci- 
eties, which have no doubt largely contributed to thorough tillage 
in the state. We may say, in passing, that South Carolina has 
brought the finest staples of the East — rice and cotton — to the 
highest degree of cultivable perfection, far beyond anything 
known to the countries in which these staples originated. 

In 1840, John P. Richardson, of Sumter, was elected gov- 
ernor. Mr. Richardson had been one of the leaders of the 
union party, and it is in proof that the strifes of party, occa- 
sioned by the question of nullification, was at an end, in the fact 
of his election. He had been a member of Congress ; had come 
of Revolutionary stock, and was a man of acute intellect and 
high ability. He was a planter. 

During this administration, the state sustained the loss of one 
of her most distinguished representative minds, in the death of 
Robert Y Hayne, who died prematurely of fever, in the fiftieth 
year of his age, and in the very maturity and harvest of his 
powers. 

Robert Y. Hayne, boasting a peculiar Revolutionary celebrity, 
was born at St. Paul's parish, in 1791. He was early marked 
for distinction ; became a successful lawyer ; then attorney- 
general of the state ; a speaker of the house in the General 
Assembly of South Carolina ; a representative ; then senator in 
Congress, where he distinguished himself as the champion of the 
South, in the great debate in Congress, the issues being the rights 
of the South — the rights of the states — as against the usurpa- 
tions of the Federal Government, involving side issues which 
enlisted, pro and con, all the several sections of the country. 
Contending with one of the most singularly-endowed men that 

210. What important movement was made in 1839? 2 LI. What is said of the results 
of this movement? 212. Who was elected governor in 1840? 213. What is said of 
him and of his election ? 214. What important event took place during his adminis- 
tration? 215. What is said of General Havne? 



FROM 184U TO 18GU, 427 

any country has ever produced, General Hayne bore himself not 
merely valiantly, but brilliantly ; and whatever niay be the deci- 
sion, popularly, in respect to the comparative powers of the two 
combatants, it will be safe to say that the rights of the South 
suffered no injury in his hands. The palm of superior eloquence 
and power might be with his opponent, while the argument and 
the truth belonged to him. 

We have already indicated, in some degree, his progress. He 
left Congress and became governor of the state. Our political 
strifes, temporarily quieted by the Coinpromise Act bill, and it 
being desirable to inaugurate a more liberal and enlarged policy 
for the city of Charleston, he became the mayor of that city. 
Subsequently, when the policy of the state sought to extend her 
communication by railroad with the West, he accepted the pres- 
idency of the Charleston, Louisville and Cincinnati railroad, 
and died of fever at Asheville, ISJorth Carolina, while in the 
prosecution of his official duties. A public monument has been 
contemplated to his memory, but, as usual in democracies, nothing 
has been done ; the living candidates for popular favor putting 
aside the claims of the past, for, as Shakspeare hath it, " The 
present eye praises the present object," and "Things in motion 
sooner catch the eye, than what not stirs." A democracy, by an 
inevitable law of nature, must degenerate into an ochlocracy ; 
since the tendency, once begun, to go down, has a momentum 
that can never arrest itself, and only stops at the foot of the 
hill ! 

Richardson, as governor of South Carolina, was succeeded 
by James H. Hammond, of Barnwell in 1842. Governor 
Hammond had distinguished himself as an able partisan in the 
nullification campaign. He was of that party ; had been an 
editor of a political newspaper, and was an aide to Governor 
Hayne. He became subsequently a brigadier-geiifiral of state 
militia, and was for a time member of the house in Congress. 
A gentleman of large wealth, he had travelled in Europe. 
While in the gubernatorial chair, he answered the letters of 

216. TVliat office did he accept when he left Congress? 217. What office did he 
subsequently fill ? 218. Of what public work did he after this accept the presidency ? 
219. WHiere did he die? 220. What is said about a monument to him? 221, Who 
succeeded Eichardson as governor m 1842? 222. What is said of him? 



428 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

Clavkson on slavery, in an able pamphlet. A planter, he intro- 
duced large and useful improvements in agriculture, and estab- 
lished an extensive drainage of swamp lands. With a mind 
naturally well endowed, improved by collegiate education and 
travel, he was soon distinguished as one of the ablest intellects 
in the state. His executive career was marked by a bold grasp 
of the public necessities, and by a judicious management of state 
affairs. He is now (1859) one of the state senators in Congress. 
The year 1^43 was distinguished for South Carolina by the 
death of Hugh S. Legare, one of her most eminent statesmen 
and literary men. He died at Boston, June 16th, of that year, 
while secretary of state of the United States under President 
Tyler. His life had been distinguished by public services and 
by masterly achievements in letters. In the former, he had 
served South Carolina in the legislature, as attorney-general, 
and in the house of representatives in Congress. He had 
served the nation at large as charge d'affaires at Brussels, one 
of the most brilliant courts in Europe, and died while in the 
performance of the duties of secretary of state, having succeeded 
Mr. Webster in Mr. Tyler's cabinet. As a man of letters, he 
was recognised* as one of the most brilliant classical scholars in 
the whole country, familiar not only with the Greek and Latin, 
but with all the continental languages of Europe, and as familiar 
with their res-pective literatures as with their languages. He- 
was one of the founders of the Southern Review, and one of its 
most frequent and brilliant contributors. He contributed also 
to the pages of the New York Review, and other publications 
of like order. Several of their most profound and elaborate 
})apers, upon topics of ancient learning, with analyses of the 
ancient orators, as well of themselves as orators and men, and 
of their characteristics as writers. He was himself one of the 
most accompUshed of public speakers, at once closely argument- 
ative and brilliant. A collection of his writings has been made 
wliich might receive much additional value by the publication 
of a great deal which has been omitted. His mortal remains, 

223. What office does he now fill (1859) ? 224. For what was the year 1843 distin- 
jruished? 225. Where did he die ? 22G. What, office did he hol*l at the time of his 
death '/ 227. What is said of him ? 228. What oT his grave and monument ? 



FROM 1782 TO 1.^60. 429 

■• 
originally committed to the vault of a friend in Boston, have 

been recently brought home and deposited at Magnolia cem- 
etery, near Charleston, where, by a private subscription among 
his admirers, a graceful monument has been raised to his 
memory. 

James H. Hammond, as governor of South Carolina, was 
succeeded, in 1844, by William Aiken, of Charleston, a planter 
of great wealth, who had previously served in the legislature 
as representative and senator, and subsequently as a representa- 
tive in Congress. 

In 1846, David Johnson, one of the judges of the superior 
courts of the state, an eminent lawyer of the upper country, 
was elected governor of the state. His administration was 
marked by the formation of the Palmetto regiment, and by its 
achievements in the war with Mexico. This noble regiment 
consisted of between eleven and twelve hundred men, mostly 
young men, the average age of the members not exceeding 
twenty-three. They were chiefly of the native population, and 
of good families — no mercenaries seeking pay and plunder, 
but ardent young volunteers, eager for distinction in war, and 
chivalrously seeking glory near the flashing of the guns. 

The regiment distinguished itself, second to none, in most of 
the affairs which marked the march from Vera Cruz to the 
conquest of the capital of Mexico. They won credit at the 
siege of Vera Cruz ; suffered terribly on the march to Alva- 
rado ; were put in charge of Puebla ; were in the several bat- 
tles of Contreras, Churubusco, Chepultepec, and at the gates of 
the city ; and it was the flag of the regiment that first waved 
over the walls of the conquered city of the Montezumas. But 
the regiment suffered, among the worst, in all these actions. 
Colonel Butler, its commander, was slain at its head while lead- 
ing the charge. Lieutenant-Colonel Dickinson, succeeding to 
the command, perished shortly after in like manner ; but their 
followers gallantly avenged them. The remnant of the regi- 
ment returning to CaroliKa, covered with bloody laurels, scarcely 

229. Who was elected governor in 1S44 ? 2:50. WJiat is said of liiiii ? 231. Who was 
elected governor in 1 84G ? 232. For what was his administration marked V 233. What 
was the number of men in the Talmefto regiment? 234. What is said of the men? 



430 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

• 
numbered three hundred men. The state awarded a medal to 
each of the survivors. 

Whitemarsh B. Seabrook, a planter of Edisto island, suc- 
ceeded in 1848 as governor of the state. " Mr. Seabrook was 
an able ^writer, especially on agricultural subjects. He had 
been indefatigable in the maintenance of the agricultural soci- 
ety, and in the promotion of all objects tending to impix)ve the 
culture of the state. 

He was succeeded by John H. Means, of Fairfield, in 1850. 
His administration was marked by the demise of John C. Cal- 
houn, at Washington, March 31, 1850. Mr. Calhoun is iden- 
fied with the political history of South Carolina from the war 
with Great Britain in 1812 — a term of nearly forty years. 
He was one of the most brilliant statesmen, no.t only of South 
Carolina, but of the confederacy, and a worthy successor of the 
celebrated John Kutledge. As an orator, perhaps, he did not 
rank, though his vehemence and intensity, his rapidity of thought, 
intuitive conception, and subtle analysis, was in proof of that 
rare faculty of imagination, which sometimes looks like inspira- 
tion, and which possesses several of the most remarkable qual- 
ities of eloquence ; intensity that glows like passion ; vehemence 
wdiicli declares for truth ; rapidity like the lightning, as pure, 
subtle, direct, and instantaneous, which is the sign of power ; and 
all blended, working like passion, and disdaining all the minor 
arts of fancy. His history must be sought in other volumes; 
but, from the close of 1812 to that of 1850, it was, in brief, 
the history of South Carolina. He was her ruling spirit — the 
embodiment of her thought and policy. He died in the liar- 
ness; literally falling, death-stricken, at the moment when, in 
debate in Congress, he was asserting the violated rights of his 
people, and the outraged and endangered securities of the wliohi 
nation, no less than of the South; since the aggressions of one 
section upon another can not fail to provoke resistance, and tlie 
whole fabric of union is necessarily endangered in the collision ! 
This is, in brief, the history of all the confederacies that the 

235. What Avere the achievements of the regiment? 2-S6. W^hat were its losses? 
287. What did the state award each of the siirvivors? 238. Who was made governor 
in 1848 ? 239. Wliat is said of him ? 240. Who succeeded him in 1850 ? 241. For what 
was his administration marked ? 242. What is said of Mr. Calhoun ? 



FROM 1782 TO 1860. 431 

world has ever known ; the aggressions of large states upon 
smaller — of the commercial upon the agricultural, which is the 
usual history, compelling the revolutions in which disintegration 
follows, and commotion, and anarchy, and war ; cupidity prompt- 
ing the desire of conquest wherever spoil is to be reaped, though 
to the utter ruin of all the parties ! 

John L. Manning, a wealthy planter of Sumter, succeeded to 
Means as governor of South Carolina in 1852. Mr. Manning 
had previously represented his district in the state senate. 

To him succeeded James H. Adams, of Richland, a wealthy 
cotton-planter also, whose administration was chiefly marked by 
liis recommendation that the slave-trade be reopened, as essen- 
tial to furnishing the adequate labor to the South ; a measure 
highly desirable, no doubt, to the industry of the South, but 
which seems to be impracticable in the present confederacy, in 
consequence of the prejudices of the North, and its numerical 
superiority in Congress. 

Robert F. W. Allston, an eminent rice-planter of Georgetown, 
succeeded Adams in 1856 as governor of the state. 

In 1858 he was succeeded by William H. Gist, of Union 
district, a popular man, a lawyer, and for many years a repre- 
sentative in the senate of the state. Mr. Gist is still (1859) 
governor of the state. 

In the close chronicling which we have accorded to our prog- 
ress as a state and people, omitting all minute details, we are 
of opinion that we have grasped all the most important facts in 
the history of the state from the close of the Revolution. But 
facts do not severally constitute truth ; and in history it demands 
the grouping of all the essential facts in the progress of a peo- 
ple, in order to a just comprehension of their civilization and 
their just claim to rank in the estimation of mankind. In such 
a work as the present, such a grouping is impossible, involving 
as it would, not merely a vast accumulation of details, but a 
philosophical investigation into causes, and a just deduction from 
these of their legitimate effects. And such investigation would 

243. Who was elected governor in 1852 ? 244. Who succeeded him ? 245. For whai 
was his administration chiefly marlced ? 246. Who was next made governor ? 24T. 
Who was elected governor in 1858 ? 



432 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

imply argument and speculation, both of which would be im- 
proper here. All that is left to us accordingly to do, is to 
report briefly, in summary, the present condition of South Caro- 
lina ; and it will be for the reader or student to make his own 
comparisons, of this present, with that past, of which we have 
given him, in preceding pages, ample materials for judgment. 

South Carolina, a small colony, settled by the English on the 
borders of the Atlantic on one side, and an immense wilder- 
ness on the other side, in the interior of North America, was 
enfeebled equally by the smallness of her population, the pov- 
erty of her individual people, and the selfish and ignorant policy 
of a foreign government. But the soil was fertile ; the situa- 
tion good ; the colonists hardy and courageous ; and possessed 
with a stern English sense of right and independence. As they 
grew^, they thought ; and very soon they began to assert their 
rights. Before many years, they threw off the government 
which had failed to do them justice ; which was, in fact, an ob- 
stacle to their development ; and required to be put on a foot- 
ing with the rest of the British people, under the immediate 
control of the crown. 

In this they exhibited a courage, a firmness, a character, 
which found their proper representatives in a strong body of 
very able men. 

But they were neither sufficiently advanced in power, in pop- 
ulation, in wisdom — nor had they suffered the necessary de- 
gree of injury from the foreign government — to think of, or 
assert, their absolute independence. That was to come with 
their continued growth, and required a few more seasons. And 
it did come ; and with the seasons, the men ! 

We have said that the Revolution, which entirely freed them 
from foreign dominion, was probably premature. But this could 
not be said of them had their population been long enough upon 
their soil to become homogeneous. The Revolution was not 
premature, as respects their resources in the one most essential 
respect. They were in possession of the necessary degree and 
development of a native intellect for a native government! 
They were in possession of an adequately-endowed race of 
great men, equal to their defence in war, and to their govern- 



FROM 1782 TO 1860. 433 

ment in times of peace. And this is the best argument for the 
independence of a people. The native civilization had so far 
advanced, that Britain herself could not, in 1776, have produced 
abler men for command of armies, or for statesmanship, than 
could the state of South Carolina. Certainly, in the whole thir- 
teen colonies, none took higher rank in either province ; and 
had the population been homogeneous — had not the state been 
one-third filled with a new and foreign people — full of natural 
prejudices in favor of the old and against the new — she, alone, 
single-handed, could probably have maintained the contest with 
all the forces that were brought against her. 

It is scarcely probable that, with an united people, the enemy 
could ever have penetrated her forests, or taken possession of 
her cities. 

Up to this period, her civilization had made rapid progress in 
all material respects. She had become a successful cultivator 
of rice and tobacco, great staples and in large demand ; her 
trade flourished ; she had begun to build shipping and to create 
a native commerce. She had begun to cultivate, equally, the 
products of the East and the South ; the rice of China, the cot- 
ton of India, the olives and the wines of France and Italy. She 
was in the possession of a soil and climate favorable to all these 
objects of culture. 

The historian who should properly and philosophically write 
the history of South Carolina, with regard to all her acts, would 
need to go into a survey of her peace, her prosperity, her grow- 
ing opulence, her improved civilization, her refinement — won- 
derful for a new state — as shown by her settlements upon the 
Ashley, the Cooper, the Santee, and other rivers, in 1776, and 
to contrast these regions and her general condition, then, with 
tliat which they displayed when she emerged from the war of 
the Revolution ; covered with wounds, and weeds, and ruin ! 
bleeding and impoverished ; her fields laid waste ; her cultiva- 
tion at an end ; her roads unsafe ; her territories, far and near, 
covered with hostile factions — desperate people; and, in brief, 
the whole work of civilization, law, society, requiring to be be- 
gun anew ! 

But it was begun ; and witli the same virtuous energy which 

19 



434 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAROLINA. 

had marked the same people in their previous labors. Gradu- 
ally, order, and civil liberty, and law, were restored to their 
supremacy. Gradually, culture, and education, and civilization, 
made their way to ascendency. Roads were laid out ; bridges 
built ; towns and villages started up in the wilderness ; and 
still there were great, commanding minds, to retrieve the past ; 
to mould the future ; to seize upon the helm, and guide the ship 
of state, in safety and dignity, to her proper harborage, and an- 
chor her firmly, where the winds and waters would break upon 
her, however violently, in vain ! 

But, before this condition could be reached, she had to trav- 
erse a wide sea of uncertainty and doubt. She entered the 
confederation of her sister states, against the warnings of some 
of her great men, and, perhaps, with some general misgivings. 
But she was naked, poor, struggling with disaster and debt ; 
and, still present to her eye, as to that of all the other states, 
was the dread, the danger, of foreign invasion — an ever-pres- 
ent fear, after the late experience of a seven years' war — 
prompting all of them to concessions, in behalf of a general 
union, in which, alone, could safety be hoped for, at that early 
period. 

Some of these concessions were unfortunate, and may now 
almost be considered fatal. One of these, which allowed other 
states to decide upon the representative status of her popula- 
tion, and to accord to her negroes an inferior representation to 
the negroes of the northern states, was a monstrous, if not a 
fatal error. Another was that of cutting off the slave-trade, 
which alone could supply an agricultural people, in a tropical 
region, with its adequate proportion of physical labor. But for 
the dread of foreign aggression, neither of these concessions 
would have been made ! The result of the Confederacy, by 
natural laws, was to abridge the independent energies of the 
southern states ; to cut off trade, and disparage their capacity 
(^ for commerce and manufactures. 

But the war of 1812, with Great Britain, found South Caro- 
lina faithful to her sister states. She was one of the most ur- 
gent, though at the sacrifice of her most precious interests, for 
the declaration of defiance to a power which outraged the flag 



FROM 1782 TO 1860. 435 

of the Confederacy, and treated the national character with 
scorn. She was still represented by a race of great men. Cal- 
houn, Cheves, Lowndes — these are national names that can 
not die ; inseparable from all that is great and glorious in our 
second war for independence, as the war of 1812 has been so 
happily styled. 

And they survived this war, and continued, some of them, 
for a long time, to be the great men of South Carolina ! and to 
these names were added others, noble followers in the wake of 
these, or gallant companions, who have maintained the high 
rank of the state in the Confederacy, and at home, till the pres- 
ent hour ! 

And the population and civilization of the state have contin- 
ued to grow till the present hour ! The fields are fertile ; the 
productions of the earth are multiplied; there are goodly staples 
which the culture of our people send forth abundantly for the 
supply of foreign countries. There are commerce and trade in 
full activity ; there are profitable manufactures ; there are pre- 
cious ores, gold, silver, copper, iron, in our mountains, which 
are delved for with energy and industry. A thousand miles of 
railway are to be found penetrating to our most remote districts. 
They stretch from the seaboard to the mountains ; from Charles- 
ton to Augusta ; to Columbia and Camden ; to Greenville, An- 
derson, Pendleton, York, and reach and unite with the railways 
of Georgia and North Carolina. The material progress of the 
state has advanced wonderfully ; and grand structures, for pub- 
lic use, and public works of rare magnificence ; and noble char- 
ities ; and cities growing from wood to brick, and from brick to 
granite and marbfe, declare for an intelhgence which is as brave 
and enterprising as it is sleepless and well-directed ! 

Nor have the spiritual and nobler elements of our nature been 
denied their proper aliment and nurture. Religion, everywhere, 
in all precincts, continues to build her temples to the living God ; 
there are arts which humanize and spiritualize, which adorn and 
beautify a race, and of all these there are living representatives. 
Education, in its simplest and in its profoundest forms, is every- 
where at hand, to train and tutor the intellectual man to the just 
development oi' his intellectual attributes. Since 1810. the state 



436 HISTORY OF SOUTH CAKOLINA. 

has made large appropriations to the education of the poor. For 
fifty years she has endowed and supported a college for the more 
ambitious. And sects and sections have shown themselves em- 
ulous in this work ; and there is now a score of similar institu- 
tions, all according equal collegiate advantages to those who 
would aspire greatly. In respect to the popular education, the 
most extraordinary eiForts, and the largest appropriations, have 
recently been made ; and, in some sections, such as Charleston, 
the progress has been beyond all estimation. Some of the 
ablest minds of the state have devoted themselves to this work, 
with a zeal, an energy, an intelligence, that promises the grand- 
est results. Hitherto, it must be admitted, the popular or free- 
school system of the state, yielded no results commensurate with 
the appropriations and efforts made. It may be well to say 
here, that the reasons for this failure are evident enough upon 
reflection. In countries purely agricuhural, especially where 
the culture is of staples, implying a demand for large bodies of 
land, the sparseness of the population is necessarily unfavorable 
to education. The poor can not send their children from any 
distance to a school — this is a physical impossibility ; and it is 
a pecuniary impossibility that any state should be able to build 
and establish a school at every man's door ! Here is the whole 
difficulty. It follows that agricultural communities can never 
enjoy the same advantages of education which are possessed by 
such as are commercial and manufacturing. It follows, too, 
from the same cause, that communities purely agricultural can 
never exhibit the same degree of intellectual activity with com- 
munities commercial or manufacturing, or where the population 
is sufficiently dense to enable the comniunity to meet the ex- 
pense of good and continuous tuition. For the secret of intel- 
lectual activity lies in continual attrition ; the constant contact 
and friction of rival minds. These are the natural disadvan- 
tages of purely agricultural states. 

But the civilization of South Carolina has led her to great 
sacrifices and continued efforts to overcome these natural diffi- 
culties ; and, with the gradual increase of her population, and 
the diversification of her employments, we have every reason 
to hope and believe that she will never be deficient in the men 



FROM 1782 TO I860. 437 

who are to wield her power, assert and maintain her arguments, 
and defend her rights. 

Hitherto, she has always been strong in her strong men ! It 
is with a mournful pride that we refer to the great names, in 
recent periods, which she has possessed and lost. Calhoun, 
M'DufRe, Cheves, Hayne, Hamilton, Cooper, Drayton, Legare, 
Grinke, Elliot — these are names of men equal to all the exi- 
gencies of a people, and capable of conferring fame upon any 
annals. They are gone ! and South Carolina stands upon the 
threshhold of a new era, and, we trust in God, a yet superior 
progress ! Let us hope that each season shall produce its 
proper men. May that Providence that has great states and 
cities in its keeping, crown her with increase, and raise her to 
heights, in the future, commensurate with the noble elevations 
of the past ; to all virtuous achievements ; to all grandeur, con- 
sistent with what is good, and noble, and pure, and true, and 
wise, and honorable ! 



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